


Heritage

by HPFandom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drama, Explicit Language, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mystery, Out of Character, Romance, Sexual Content, Spoilers, Suspense, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-24
Updated: 2007-06-18
Packaged: 2018-10-01 13:08:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10190570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPFandom_archivist/pseuds/HPFandom_archivist
Summary: In between falling for a Malfoy and fighting a war, a Creature inheritance and the discovery he's been lied to are just two more additions to Harry's already-large pile of problems...





	1. Heritage I - The Prophecy: Chapter I - Discoveries and Discussions

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

**Title** \- Heritage I – The Prophecy; Chapter I – Discoveries  & Discussions  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 3528  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic. Also thanks to The_Minx_17 and Potion_Lady who pre-read this and held my hand through wibble moments.

 

 

 

Harry stared out of the kitchen window in shock, trying to process what he'd just heard. Turning back to the room, studiously avoiding the eyes of his friends, he shook his head softly, "I'd have found out about this by now."

"Harry things…it's not that simple."

"Yes, it is. Everyone talks about how great my mum and dad were, so why has no-one mentioned that I have a _fucking aunt_ and she is a _fucking deserter_?"

He saw Sirius and Remus tense, but ignored it for now. After the events of his sixth year, he was done with surprises, and he rounded on Sirius. "So this woman, she's your…your what, exactly?"

"We were going to be married but…"

"But she ran away? Guess I'm not the only one who was deserted!"

"Harry it isn't as simple as…"

"Yes it is! Yes it fucking well is! I had to grow up with people that _hated_ me! What the hell kind of aunt abandons her dead brother's kid? And if her and my dad were that close why wasn't she the secret keeper? Why am I only finding out about this woman now?" 

"Because she's coming back."

That bombshell silenced everyone, and Dumbledore studiously avoided Sirius' eyes as he spoke to Harry in a calm voice. "I understand you are angry, but we shielded you from knowledge of Isabella for good reasons. She will be arriving in the country towards the end of next week, and this is not the greeting you will give her. Until you have calmed down, we will say no more, but when you are ready to listen I will explain about Isabella and why she left." Dumbledore paused, and shot Harry a look which said quite clearly that the discussion was closed, before continuing, "Sirius, Remus, a word?"

Harry spluttered, regaining his voice just as Dumbledore reached the doorway. "Hang on, so you're going to tell them but not me?" 

Dumbledore had a look of profound disappointment in his eyes as he surveyed the young man. He'd known this would be a bombshell, but he'd expected Harry's curiosity to outweigh his anger. "Yes. Forgive me, Harry, but you are to be kept in the dark until you have proved that you can be trusted." 

Harry watched in shock as Dumbledore led Sirius and Remus out of the door, and turned to his equally shocked friends. His mind skittered around everything that had been revealed in the past hour, and his temper flared dangerously close to the surface. He had an _aunt_ , why had no one thought to mention this before now? 

Eventually he was able to form words, and he glared at Molly Weasley. "Did you know her?"

Guilt laced her voice, Molly couldn't believe she'd never thought to tell Harry, never even thought about someone she had known for many years, just allowed herself to fall victim to a spell. "Yes." 

"So all this time, you never thought to mention? Never thought to drop into conversation that I had an aunt? A living, breathing blood relative who could connect me to my parents?" Harry paused, and held Molly's eyes firmly, not caring that this woman had been kind and good to him, needing to twist the knife in just that little bit deeper. "You know; the ones that died for this stupid war the first time around?"

Molly flinched, and stood up, beginning to herd her children out of the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and to bed in an attempt to avoid that which she knew was coming. "I'm sure there were reasons, Harry, that Dumbledore will explain when you are ready."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry knocked gently on the door to Dumbledore's office and waited for permission to enter. He'd spent Thursday evening and all day Friday seething. Now it was Saturday afternoon and he was ready for some answers. At Dumbledore's invitation he entered the office and sat down in front of the old wizard's desk.

"Harry, I trust you've been well?" Dumbledore inquired softly, his usual twinkling smile in place.

Harry worked very hard to make his voice level; this office had seen too many of his rants for him to be comfortable delivering another. "I've been better. I need some answers, please Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded and conjured up a tea set. He poured a cup for him and one for Harry before banishing the remains. They drank the tea in silence as Dumbledore formulated his thoughts, and when his cup was empty, he began to speak. "I will tell you the story from start to end, but you must listen to me carefully and not interrupt me."

Harry nodded his understanding and set his half-empty teacup down. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling, and he had an indulgent smile on his face as he began to speak. "Isabella was a year older than James, and one of the most talented people I have ever had the fortune to meet. She sat her OWL exams in her fourth year and passed all of them with 'Outstanding' grades. She took her NEWT exams in January of her sixth year and again passed with flying colours. 

Once she had passed her exams, Isabella trained in various Masteries: Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Runic Translation, and Divination. While many wondered at her intellectual ability, none thought to question it any further, and for that she was eternally grateful."

"Why? I don't…"

"Harry, you said you would allow me to speak."

"Sorry, I just…"

"I know. Let me ask you, Harry, what you know of Dryads?"

Harry stammered, his brain digging through everything he'd learned in lessons (or Hermione had told him afterwards) as he tripped over his words. "They…I…nothing, why?" 

Dumbledore reached for a lemon-drop and sucked it thoughtfully for a few moments. He didn't want to deprive Harry of information, but he could spend days talking about Dryads, and he wanted Isabella to do most of that; it would help them bond. "Dryads are female tree spirits. They are sentient beings who are associated to a specific tree. Should the tree die the Dryad dies with it. Your paternal grandmother was a Dryad, specifically a Hamadryad; one who is associated with Oak trees. However, your grandmother found a way to release herself from her tree. While this took away her near-immortality, it allowed her to retain her power and intelligence but be able to walk the earth freely.

When Isabella was born it was assumed that, because of the severance of Dryad and tree that had gone before her, she would be a normal witch."

Dumbledore paused, and waited as Harry's face displayed his emotions. Impatience for Dumbledore to continue, anger that he'd stopped, confusion as to _why_ he'd stopped, and finally comprehension dawned on the seventeen year olds features.

"She wasn't, was she?"

Another lemon drop, another pause to collect his thoughts. "No, she was not. Isabella was a Dryad, but was born without allegiance to a species of tree. She was able to walk by herself at six months. It was then that we realised this was a child of exceptional magical powers. Now, all of this is very interesting, but I doubt it answers your questions. The only people who knew of Isabella's Dryad nature were her immediate family, myself, Remus, Sirius, Lily and Peter."

Harry gritted his teeth reflexively at the mention of the traitorous rat bastard and the memory of everything that his spinelessness had stolen from Harry. In Harry's mind _everything_ that had happened could be blamed on that man.

Dumbledore waited until Harry had calmed down, silently offering a lemon drop which he suspected was taken just so Harry had a reason to crunch his teeth together. "While no-one else knew of her true nature; all knew of her strength and power. She was very vocal in her opposition of Voldemort and as such was at the top of his enemy list right up until the prophecy about you became known. When finding out about the prophecy, it was decided that Voldemort would assume that Isabella, as the strongest member of the group, would be made secret keeper for your parents and yourself. So Peter was given that task as a diversionary tactic."

Dumbledore paused again, watching Harry carefully to ensure that the young man was listening to him. He could see the cogs turning; Harry had never been one for shielding his thought processes, that's why he was such a terrible Occlumens. Though maybe with Isabella teaching him he'd improve? Dumbledore reigned in his tangenting thoughts and decided he had a sufficient amount of Harry's attention to continue speaking. "However, when he sold out your parents he also sold out Isabella. Voldemort was intrigued, as he knew of Dryad lore. If he could find a way to undo what Isabella's mother did, he would be able to achieve immortality in a much less painful way."

Comprehension dawned on Harry and he looked at Dumbledore in shock. "You mean he wanted to experiment on her?"

Dumbledore sucked extra hard on his lemon drop as he beamed at Harry. It would seem that Harry was finally understanding, and perhaps some kind of relationship with Isabella could be salvaged from all of this. "Yes, he did. When James and Lily were murdered, Isabella was distraught. The only people left alive that knew about Peter being the secret keeper were her and Sirius. They rescued you from the rubble and brought you to me. However, the times were still very dangerous, and there was still a very large price on her head. Not knowing how many people were aware of her heritage, we had to come to a decision."

"But if she'd stayed she could have cleared Sirius and…"

"And magical creatures are feared by the Ministry. A Dryad who is attached to a tree is one thing, but one who is free and able to cross land and sea?"

Dumbledore paused, but Harry still looked a little lost, and he tented his fingers, resting his chin on them as he leant across the desk. "Think about it Harry! If the remaining Death Eaters hadn't killed her, the Ministry would have made her _disappear_. Isabella had to flee, but before she went, she performed a very complex piece of magic. Isabella performed a spell which removed all trace of her existence from the world she lived in. She left a single loophole, in the form of my memories. Should she contact me, I would be able to remember her, and tell others about her. The act of my telling would have returned their memories of Isabella to them."

Deciding that the mass Oblivation this woman had managed was just too much to process right now, Harry decided to stick on something simple; why she'd needed to do such a thing. That bit was still unclear in his mind, and he looked up at Dumbledore imploringly. "But why…"

"Because of you, my dear boy!"

Harry squirmed, and Dumbledore watched a faint blush rise up his cheeks. Once again he thanked Merlin that the boy had been brought up unaware of his own significance, it was his saving grace. "Because you had to be protected, and Isabella's presence in your life would have done the opposite. When you were born, Isabella gave you a gift that none but she, James, Lily, and I knew about. In much the same way as her mother had severed her life from the tree she was born to; Isabella severed part of her self and rested it in you. This was done to protect you; Dryads are resilient to injury and harm. However, had she stayed with you, your Dryad heritage would have become apparent very early on. None of us believed Voldemort was truly gone, and had he discovered your nature he would have exploited you to take advantage of that."

"Hang on…I'm…I'm one of these…a Dryad thingy?" At Dumbledore's encouraging nod, Harry set to working this out a little better. He was a Creature, okay. He had powers, okay. He was a Dryad…"But I thought they were girls!"

"They were. That is what makes you so unique, Harry. You are the first Male Dryad. Created not born, the gift of your life from the life of another. A creature such as yourself should not exist, and yet you do." Dumbledore took a lemon drop almost absentmindedly, but as he saw the confusion on Harry's face he held the sweet between his fingers. "Harry, mythology has spoken of you in hushed terms for many millennia, but none truly believed you would come into existence." 

Harry's subconscious kicked up rather spitefully in the back of his mind ' _Boy-who-lived, now a male female tree spirit, will tomorrow bring wings and a Mohawk?!_ "I'm…I don't…"

Dumbledore sighed, and spoke around the lemon drop he'd managed to get into his mouth. "I wouldn't expect you to. Let me make it simple for you. You are not a true Dryad; you are a wizard, Harry. But you have a Dryad nature that can be nurtured to help you in the battle against Voldemort. Your Aunt gifted this to you and she is returning to you to guide you in achieving this nature. You will come of age in three weeks, and then you will make a choice. Accept the teaching of Dryad lore and gain the skills, or turn away and retain your wizard nature."

As life-changing decisions went that was a big one, and Harry filed it away for later consideration. Right now, he needed answers. "But…if I'm…do I stop being a wizard?"

"No. Your natural powers are merely enhanced, sharpened, heightened."

Dumbledore watched the young man and felt a sense of helplessness. He understood perfectly, but he also believed that it should be Isabella that explained things to Harry. The older witch owed him that at least. "Harry, I have told you a lot, and there is so much left to tell that even I do not understand. I have a letter to you, which was sent to me when Isabella made contact again. There are also letters for Remus and Sirius, and I ask that you pass them on when you return to Grimmauld Place. When she arrives, Isabella will be able to better explain what I can not. I want to impress upon you that Isabella did not leave through choice, but through necessity."

Harry nodded dumbly and took the three scrolls handed to him. He didn't register that his feet were carrying him back out of the school, to the gates. He didn't register port-keying home or giving the parchment to Sirius and Remus. His own parchment was tossed to the table as he collapsed onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling in a daze.

So much had been said, and yet so little had been answered. If anything, Harry had more questions now than he'd had this morning. Closing his eyes, Harry thanked the gods when sleep found him quickly, and in dreams, he had sweet respite.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella Potter smiled softly at the Muggle boy who held the gate open for her. It was refreshing to see a child with manners. As she stepped through the gate her heels clicked on the iron walkway, marking her return to British soil as she stepped off the ferry and into Dover port. She reached out into the surrounding atmosphere and invited the raw magic into her body. Using raw magic would mean the Ministry wouldn't recognise the spells being cast, and wouldn't be alerted to the anomaly of someone presumed dead casting spells. 

Satisfied that she had enough magic to perform the spells, Isabella set up protective wards around herself, ensuring that she'd know if she was within fifty feet of another magical being. As she was walking through the second set of gates, the Muggle boy held the gate for her again, and she smiled at him. "Thanks, sweetheart."

He flushed, and looked away, making Isabella's smile widen. She lost site of him in the mass of people, and was soon stepping out of the port completely. She paused, tapping her foot as she considered her options. Before anything else happened, before she set her long-awaited revenge in motion, there were a few conversations she needed to listen in on while she was still inconspicuous. 

Turning her collar up against the slight wind, Isabella schooled her features. Better get in all the practice she could at looking perfectly Light, it wouldn't do to be found out before she'd even properly started. Shaking her head slightly, she put her best foot forward and walked back into Wizarding Britain's life…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry woke a little before eight and yawned widely. The conversation with Dumbledore came rushing back to him and he groaned gently. His head ached from all the information he had received in the past few days, and as he sat up, he caught sight of the parchment on the table. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until he'd read it, Harry reached over and picked it up, slitting the wax seal and unfurling the crisp parchment, settling against the headboard to read…

 

_Harry,_

_If you are reading this then I am almost home again. I know that Dumbledore has explained, and I know that you do not understand what is happening. So, I will try my best to put your mind at ease._

_You are not a creature in the true sense of the word, nor am I. Study texts on Creatures, about Elves and Incubi and you will see that they are defined by their creature status. My mother's actions in severing herself from her tree, and thus from her Dryad heritage, have severed that Creature link. She retained her intelligence and power, but lost her near-immortality. It was assumed that, as she was no longer a true Creature, her children would be normal witches and wizards._

_I, however, proved that false. I have never defined myself as a Creature, because to do so would have gotten me killed. The Ministry does not trust those magical creatures that do not obey the lore of their heritage. My mother's secret became my secret, and it was jealously guarded._

_A prophecy was made, many millennia ago, about a male Dryad. The prophecy is viewed as the embellishment of a village storyteller with little else to do, but I know it is true. So, as soon as I was able to, I began preparing for your arrival into this world. The only other person that knew the full details of the prophecy was James, and he helped me in preparing. When I see you next I will tell you the prophecy, and you can choose who you trust with that information. I ask that you allow me to let Sirius and Remus in on the secret, and I'm sure you won't need convincing of Dumbledore's use in our task._

_When Peter sold out James and Lily, he sold me out too. Bringing my head to the Ministry would have got Voldemort himself a ticket to freedom, and my presence around you would have drawn out your Dryad characteristics much sooner. I betrayed many people by walking away, but I had to leave to keep you safe. I promised James that whatever happened to him, I would protect you, and hard as it is for you to see right now, I hope that one day you can view my actions as being towards that end._

_I have returned to Britain sporadically to check up on you, and feel that it is my duty as your Aunt to admonish you for blowing up Aunt Marge, though I must agree that she deserved it! If it had been possible, I would have made contact with you, but my magic has been tracked more times than I am comfortable with. Instead, I came as my Animagus form._

_I have no claim on your life or your time, Harry. I gave that up when I walked out on you. All I can ask is that you listen to what I have to say, and that one day maybe you will forgive me for the wrongs I have done by you._

_My all,_

_Isabella C. Potter._

 

Harry read the letter twice through, and felt a smile curling his lips. He reached over to his trunk and grabbed a sheet of parchment, beginning to scrawl questions down. He wanted answers, and it would take a cold day in hell to stop him getting them. He worked though the letter, making questions over each paragraph. As he reached the bottom of the letter and read the sixth paragraph, something occurred to him, and he rooted around in his trunk for the Marauder's Map. Holding it out in front of him, Harry closed his eyes and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Harry waited long minutes before opening his eyes and looking down at the yellowed parchment.

_Messer's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, with the knowledge and expertise of Flick, present the Marauder's Map._

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage I – The Prophecy: Chapter II - Isabella**_

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	2. Heritage I  The Prophecy: Chapter II - Isabella

**Title** \- Heritage I – The Prophecy; Chapter II – Isabella   
**Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 4792  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

**Second Note** \- As strange as it seems, trust me on there being a good reason for Harry's reaction to Isabella. *S*S* xx

 

 

It had been almost a week since Harry had learnt of his aunt's existence, and he'd learnt more in those six days than he'd learnt in six years at Hogwarts. Once they knew he was genuinely interested in learning about her, Remus and Sirius had opened up, telling Harry tales from their childhood he'd never heard before, and some that he had but not with Isabella as a factor in them. It was as they sat on Wednesday evening, the three of them drinking fire whiskey and laughing, that Harry spoke up. "Are you not upset, that she'd make you forget her like that?"

Sirius' eyes darkened, and he stared into the fire before answering. "A little. It's complicated. There was something that she and James knew, that none of us did. And that…whatever it was…was important. She did what she had to do, and if we didn't remember her we couldn't miss her. I trust Isabella completely; she'll have had reasons for this."

Harry saw the pain behind his godfather's eyes, and reached into his pocket to take out the well-read letter he'd received. "This is what she said to me. I think she wanted you and Remus to know too but it was too dangerous to tell you back then. I think she's going to explain it better when she arrives, and it'll help if you two are there."

Harry waited while they both read the letter. It was Remus that spoke first, his thoughts following a tangent. "Sirius…you don't think…I never knew…James must have been in on it…but why weren't we…or did you…"

"I knew nothing."

Harry had assumed that reading the letter would make Sirius feel better, but his godfather looked worse; hurt twisting through his eyes as he stood up and began to pace. Harry floundered for a moment, this wasn't supposed to happen! The letter was supposed to appease his godfather, not cause him pain. "Sirius? I didn't mean to upset you I just…"

"You haven't. Isabella told me that there was something between her and James that couldn't be spoken about. She told me that she'd sworn an oath to protect you no matter the cost and I just assumed she meant an Unbreakable Vow."

"Can I…can I ask you something?"

Sirius nodded, and Harry set his glass down on the table. "If everyone thought Isabella was the Secret Keeper, why did you…why did you go to Azkaban?"

There was a long silence after that, and Harry saw both older men lost in their thoughts. Eventually Sirius spoke, his voice thick with tears as he stared out of the window onto the street. "Because I love her. Because the night she left she promised me she'd come back, and that I wouldn't lose her forever, just until it was safe. If Isabella had gone to Azkaban she'd have been killed instantly. She wouldn't even have made it to the Dementors; the Ministry would have used Avada Kedavra. We knew that the Ministry would need a scapegoat, and that was me."

"But that isn't fair! You were innocent! She should have…"

Harry fell silent as Sirius turned around, and fixed him in a firm look that spoke volumes. "Harry, let me tell you something man to man. If it hadn’t been for Isabella, I would have been a Death Eater. You think your father was obsessed with Lily? I was infatuated with Izzy. I jumped through all kind of hoops for her, became a better man for her. She never asked for any of it, but I did it because she deserved it. She didn't leave willingly Harry, I remember that night clearly even though I haven't remembered it for damn near sixteen years."

Sirius stared into the fire as he spoke softly of a woman he'd loved so passionately, and yet not thought of in so very long. "Harry, if she hadn’t gone I'd have forced her. I knew it then and I know it now; there is something bigger at play here, something that only one person in the entire world fully understands about. She was my life for twenty-one years, and all of that has come rushing back to me this week. I need her to be my life again. Just hear her out, and then make your decisions."

Sirius had turned back to the window, and Harry found himself being herded out of the room by Remus. He followed the werewolf out into the garden and sat down on the bench in front of the small pond. 

"Harry, this is all so confusing, but you have to trust us. Isabella was a good person, and she wouldn't have left like that without a reason. This is hard for Sirius and I; to have all of these memories and emotions suddenly back in our lives. But, it was for the best. Sirius would have died of a broken heart in Azkaban, and Merlin knows how I would have coped with the continual worry over where she was and if she was alright."

"I've never seen Sirius cry, he must really love her."

"He does. He hid it for a long time, for fear of what James would do if he found out."

"Was he against it then?"

"To begin with. James knew how Sirius treated girls; he didn’t know that Sirius was trying to substitute Izzy and when it didn’t work with one girl he moved onto the next. James just saw a player. It took everything Sirius had to confess his feelings to Izzy."

"What did she do?"

Remus snickered, and shot a side-ways look at Harry. "Izzy? Oh, for all her knowledge and power Izzy panicked and ran away!"

"Really?"

"Really! She liked Sirius, but James wouldn't have been happy."

Harry couldn't imagine his father not being happy; from what he'd been told so far they'd all gotten on so well. "But surely he saw reason?"

"Eventually. Izzy and Sirius kept their relationship hidden while they worked out what they wanted. From what Izzy told me neither of them wanted to go public unless they were certain it was something more than a teenage fling, because the stakes were so high."

"Did Izzy confide in you then?"

Remus stared dreamily into the pond, remembering late night conversations and reassurances as he spoke. "We confided in each other. She was the first person I told about my werewolf heritage, and she made me the Wolfsbane potion and kept my secret for a year while I worked up the courage to tell everyone else. Izzy was one of us, the age difference didn’t matter. Her and James…they were almost like twins. Worse than the Weasley twins for finishing each other's sentences and hatching schemes."

"So they fell in love and told dad?"

"No. He…he caught them. Izzy had gone up to the boys dorms, and when James came looking for her in the common room Peter said that she'd gone to see Sirius. Izzy was friends with all of us, so it was nothing new, and James bounded upstairs to ask her something and caught the two of them."

"Were they…you know?"

Remus glanced at Harry and saw the young man blushing. He smiled, and chuckled softly before he spoke. "No, from what I remember Sirius had come out of the shower while Izzy was returning a book she'd borrowed, and they were kissing on Sirius' bed. Sirius was in his jeans, but he was shirtless and it looked a lot worse than it was. James saw red, and he beat the hell out of Sirius. We could hear them from the common room, and it took both me and Peter to pull James off Sirius. James told Isabella that it was him or Sirius and then stormed out."

Harry looked at Remus, but the soft smile told him that this story had a happy ending, and he nudged Remus gently to continue the story. "What did you all do?"

"Izzy healed Sirius and went after James. She'd never have chosen Sirius over him, and that went a long way to cooling him down. The next time we saw him he informed Sirius that if he hurt a single hair on Izzy's head James would tear him apart and feed him to the Giant Squid. Things were tense for a while, but it was pretty obvious that Sirius was in love with Izzy, and she with him."

Harry smiled, and swung his legs gently. They sat in silence for a while, until another question occurred to Harry. "So, they got together when Izzy was in fifth year?"

"Yes. So she was fifteen, and Sirius was fourteen. They've been together ever since. Well…"

Harry nodded. "I get what you mean. I…this changes everything."

"I know it does."

Remus could hear the betrayal in Harry's voice, could smell it on him, and he turned in his seat to face Harry. He knew that for Harry and Isabella to have any kind of relationship, Harry couldn't feel like he was being lied to. Which he wasn't, but Harry took after James in his irrationality. "Harry, we weren't lying to you. And I won't lie to you now; it hurt that Isabella did this, and when she's settled back in here I'm going to have a long chat with her about appropriate behaviour; but, I know her, and I know that her reasons will be sound. She loved Sirius with all her heart and she doted on you. The only people that loved you more were James and Lily, and Izzy gave them a run for their money! She was so excited when Lily announced she was pregnant, making all these grand plans and driving us up the wall!"

Remus had that nostalgic smile on his face again, and Harry arched an eyebrow in his best impression of his dour Potions Master, garnering a chuckle from the wolf. "Grand plans?"

"Oh yes. She was your aunt; she was going to spoil you rotten. She still will, if you let her."

Harry went to smile, but felt it sliding off his face. "She seems too good to be true from what you've said."

"She would do. She had her faults, of course she did, but don't we all? Isabella was strong and true. She fought for what she believed in and she loved her family passionately. You have to give her a chance, Harry." 

Harry nodded, and looked at the moon reflected in the still surface of the pond. "Remus, what if…what if…?"

"What ifs are ten a knut, Harry. Isabella will have answers. Come on, it's getting late."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry registered the knocking on his door and groaned. "What?"

Hermione slipped into his room, and moved to sit on the end of the bed. "Harry, I've finished the last book."

Harry sat up and reached for his glasses. Putting them on and stifling a yawn he forced his brain into gear. He'd told Hermione and Ron everything that had happened because he knew he'd need their help, but he'd sworn them to secrecy. Stifling another yawn he met Hermione's eyes and saw a sheen of tears. "Hermione, what is it?"

"Oh Harry it's awful! The Black Library has copies of court records, and I looked through some of them. The things the Ministry did, it's sick! A faerie was brought up in front of the Ministry on charges of pulling pranks on wizards – school-child pranks – and the Ministry hacked her wings off! Faeries die without their wings! There are multiple cases where an Incubi and their bond-mate were split up, killing the Incubi! They'd have killed her, Harry!"

Harry processed the information slowly, and pulled Hermione into a tight hug as her tears spilled over her cheeks. "Hermione, did you find any records of Dryads?"

"One."

"And?"

"Harry it…it was awful!"

"Can you tell me, or do you want me to read it for myself?"

Hermione took a moment to compose herself, and reached out for a tissue. She took a deep breath before recounting the court proceedings to Harry. "A wizard attempted to cut down a tree in a Dryad forest, and one Dryad stood up to him. They were hauled in front of the Ministry and the Ministry decided to punish the Dryad by cutting her tree down…"

"Which would kill her."

"Yes. But they…the Ministry…they destroyed the whole forest Harry! They killed all of the Dryads because ' _if one is attacking witches and wizards, the others will soon follow_ '."

Harry felt bile rise in his throat, and took a few deep breaths. "Thanks, Hermione. I'll look through the rest myself; it was just such a daunting task without your expertise."

"It's fine, I was just shocked. How…how are you otherwise?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well…it's got to have been a shock…are you coping?"

Harry sighed, and pulled his knees up to his chest. He honestly didn't know how he was coping. So much of what he'd thought was true, what he'd believed in, was actually false. Somewhere out there he had an aunt. A living blood relative who by all accounts doted on him. "I don't know. I think things will be easier when I've met her."

"She sounds nice, from what you've told me and everyone else has said."

Harry nodded, and curled tighter into himself. He felt Hermione shifting to wrap her arms around him, and he moved to cradle her waist gently. Her voice floated up from his shoulder quietly. "What's bothering you?"

"Don't laugh."

"I wouldn't."

Harry tried to organise his worries, and when he spoke he was embarrassed to hear the nervousness and hint of tears in his voice. "Remus and Sirius talk about how close she and dad were, and how much she loved me when I was a baby. What if…what if I disappoint her?"

Harry felt Hermione shifting in his arms and tried to get a hold on the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. Hermione pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before disentangling herself and heading back out of his room. She stopped at the doorway and smiled gently at him. "Harry you are a lot of things, but you are not a disappointment. Sleep well."

"Thanks, you too."

The door clicked closed and Harry was alone again with his thoughts. If he was honest, that was the crux of the matter. He didn't care about a supposed prophecy, about a Creature heritage or about powers he may have and methods to beat Voldemort. All he really cared about was finding out if the strongest link to his parents could look at him and be proud.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

"Sirius, sit down!"

"Dumbledore said she'd be here by now!"

"She doesn't exist anymore! It's not like she can walk through customs! We have no idea where she's been or who else knows about her! Will you please just calm down?"

Sirius growled at Remus, and resumed his pacing. He knew he was being irrational, but he **had** to see her again. He needed to know if what he remembered feeling was what he still felt. It was so difficult, and Sirius had never been one for coping well with difficult situations. Finally losing his temper he grabbed his wand and wallet and stormed out of the kitchen and out the front door, setting off his mother as he sought the nearest pub.

Remus groaned and closed the kitchen door, silencing it to drown out Mrs Black's screams. He toyed with his food idly, and looked up when Harry spoke to him. "Is Sirius OK?"

"No. It's…I don't know. Nothing is OK anymore Harry. Ignorance truly is bliss. I hate Izzy for making me forget her; I hate myself for letting myself forget her. I hate her for leaving and I hate the fact I'm blaming her for something she had no choice over. None of us have the answers, we just have half the story, and it's hard to make sense of anything anymore."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

The weekend crawled by slowly, and as they sat at the table on Sunday evening, no one seemed inclined to talk. Sirius was pacing again and Remus was staring listlessly out of the window. Harry felt despair settling in his stomach, his thoughts running rampant. _'She should have been here by now. What if she's changed her mind, or decided she doesn't want to see me? Maybe she watched me before she made herself known, and I disappointed her.'_

"This isn't fucking fair!"

Everyone was startled by Sirius' outburst, and Remus stood up slowly. "I know Siri, but we just have to be patient."

"Patient?! I've been waiting a week and a half, and she hasn't shown up! How do we know this isn't some sick joke, some plot of You-Know-Who's?"

"Honestly Sirius, use his name, it can't hurt you."

The silence that fell was absolute, as Sirius turned round slowly. The entire kitchen stared open-mouthed at the woman stood in the kitchen doorway, and Harry felt his heart lodge in his throat. The woman was beautiful, tall and lithe with soft curves and features. She had black hair that fell in messy waves to mid-back and dark blue eyes that glinted like sapphires. Her skin was lightly tanned, and she had an indulgent smile on her face as she looked at Sirius. "Speechless? My, my, I didn’t think it was possible!"

"Iz…Izzy?"

"Yep."

Suddenly Sirius was sweeping her up in his arms, pulling the woman close as he spun around in circles in the middle of the kitchen. Harry didn't know whether they were laughing or crying, but when Sirius finally set Isabella down he pulled her into a deep kiss that lasted long minutes, until Remus cleared his throat. "And what about me?"

Pulling away. Izzy smiled and bounded over to Remus, jumping into a hug and kissing him firmly on the lips. "Missed you too Remi!"

Harry found a smile on his face as Sirius moved to hug Izzy, the three Marauders lost in their own little world. Eventually he heard Izzy speak, her voice muffled by laughter and Remus' chest.

"Okay, guys…can't breathe!"

Smiling, the two men let her go, though both kept a loose hold on her. "Guys, I'll explain everything, I swear. I'm so sorry for what I did."

Sirius' face darkened, and he took a step back. "You could have left me some memories."

"So you could live through the same hell I have? Always wondering if you were okay, if I could chance making contact with you. And besides; what the hell were you playing at busting out of Azkaban?"

"I had to get out of there! You sure as hell weren't coming back for me!"

"Of course I was! It just took time. Things are worse than any of us thought, than me and Jay ever feared. You could have been killed you great dozy mutt!"

Sirius seemed silenced by this, but eventually he smiled softly. "You have a lot of explaining, and a lot of grovelling, to do. But Merlin I've missed you."

"Missed you too Siri. And I'll explain everything but I've got to talk to someone else first. Harry has to decide who knows what, where is he?"

Sirius tipped his head in Harry's direction, and Isabella turned, taking in for the first time the people sat around the dinner table. She nodded to Molly and Arthur, and her eyes widened as she set eyes on Harry. "Merlin on high…"

Harry felt himself flushing, and moved to stand near Remus. He felt Isabella's eyes raking over him, and when he looked up there were silent tears running down her face. "Izzy, right?"

"Yeah. Harry I'm so sorry."

"I know. Your letter helped, and Sirius and Remus have explained some stuff. I guess…I guess I kind of understand why you left."

Silence fell again, and this time it was broken by Isabella, her voice wavering gently. "I…there's so much to tell you. Whenever you're ready…"

"I'm ready now."

"Harry, Isabella needs to rest and…" Remus saw the determined look on two generations of the bloodline's faces, and trailed off quietly. 

"I'm fine Remi. I'll wait in the parlour, you work out who you want to be there if you want anyone at all, OK?"

Harry nodded, and waited until Isabella had left before turning back to the room. "Headmaster, will you come?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. And Sirius and Remus."

Remus spoke up, not wanting Harry to feel obliged. "Harry you don't…" 

"Please?"

After nods of acceptance, Harry shot a reassuring smile at Hermione and the others. "I'll fill you in later, yeah?"

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Once they were all settled, Isabella met Harry's eyes and smiled reassuringly. "I promise I'll answer anything you ask me. Are you sure you're happy with everyone in the room knowing everything?"

Harry nodded, and took a deep breath. As with his meeting with Dumbledore, he wanted all of the information first before he even thought about the implications of such a massive change in his life. "Yeah, sure. Can…I have a list of questions?"

Isabella smiled, her eyes twinkling merrily at the boy who was so like his father. "Very practical! What do you want to do then, ask me questions and have me answer them, or do you want me to tell you what I know and then answer any questions you still have at the end?"

Harry looked around, but he seemed to be the designated spokesperson. "The second one, I think."

Nodding, Isabella arranged herself more comfortably in the chair and downed her glass of fire whiskey. "OK. I assume you know about Dryads, and what my mother did?"

Harry nodded his assent, and took a sip of his own drink before answering. "Yes.”

"Good." Isabella paused to refill her glass, moving the bottle to top everyone else's up with a thought and a flick of her wrist. Once everyone had a drink, and a lemon-drop courtesy of Dumbledore, she continued her tale. "Now, in ancient lore, there is a prophecy, but it is in stories based on fiction, and over time, it was taken out of mythology for being inaccurate. Except, the prophecy isn't inaccurate. It's true, and it had serious implications. I should not have been born as I was; my Mother's severance from her tree should have ended the Dryad line. But it didn't, and I was born a Dryad like her; retaining the skills and knowledge but free from a tree. 

As soon as I knew that the prophecy was real, I began preparing for the outcome of it. I graduated and studied for Masteries in Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Runic Translation, and Divination. While all this was going on, Voldemort was steadily accruing followers and preparing his army to take over the wizarding world. You were born, and I performed the spell to gift you with Dryad nature, in accordance with the prophecy…"

"But prophecies are only as true as you make them!” Harry spluttered; Dumbledore had told him that was true, so what had happened to force this prophecy into truth?

"Yes, they are. But, that doesn't detract from their weight. Harry, we had no choice but to act as the prophecy foretold, because if we hadn't you could have died."

"What was the prophecy?"

"I'm getting there. But first, you need to understand why I acted as I did." 

Isabella looked up and made sure Harry was watching her before she spoke. It was strange, looking into Lily's eyes and seeing James' emotions play out, but she found it was strangely endearing. "When Peter sold us out he put you and I in grave danger. No-one could find out about your Dryad nature, and I would have been put to death for mine. Keeping you safe was the priority, and not for a prophecy or a future war, but because when Sirius and I consented to be your godparents we promised to do anything and everything in our power, regardless of the personal cost, to keep you safe. Neither of us made that promise lightly. 

If you had grown up with me, your nature would have become apparent, and you would have been in danger not just from the Ministry but from remaining Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself if he rose again. For all the celebration, I did not believe he was dead; those that fought the hardest and the longest in the war knew he wasn't truly gone."

Harry interrupted then, his need for an answer burning greater than his need to hear the story. "Why did you make everyone forget you? How do you even have the power to do that?"

Isabella blushed, and stared into the roaring fire for a few moments before answering. "I have the power because I can connect with nature in a way that witches and wizards cannot. Everything has innate magic, and I can see that and use it to fuel my own power. I removed myself from living memory because I did not want people hunting me down, and I did not want the people I love to feel abandoned by me. I have to face the consequences of my actions, but I won’t apologise for doing what I did. It had to be done; we all sacrificed things for the war."

Silence fell, and Harry thought over what Isabella had said as he stared into the fire. Eventually he looked up and caught deep blue eyes. "I understand why you did it."

Isabella smiled, pausing briefly so that her voice didn’t belie her emotions when she spoke. Now was not the time for mushy reunions, it was the time for explanations. "That means more than you know. Now, the prophecy."

Isabella pulled a piece of parchment out of her pocket and sent it flying over to Harry. He opened it carefully and read the words written there. 

__  
The one who was born that should not have been,  
Attached to, yet separate from, her Creature Lore.  
Tasked to help the child of Myth,  
Gives gift unto her kinship's blood,  
That man, as woman, inherits skill and nature.  
Though his path is strewn with fallen heroes,  
Out of the ashes rises one who will surpass all.  
The only chance to defeat the Tyrant's wrath. 

 

Harry read the prophecy through twice more before passing it to the others. Once everyone had read the neat script, Isabella spoke again. "Do you understand the prophecy, Harry?"

"I think. It…you shouldn't have been a Dryad, but you were. You're separate from the lore because you are free from a tree. You kinship's blood is me…James' son, and your gift was the Dryad nature, even though I'm male, not female. And I'm the one that will defeat Voldemort."

Harry suspected that everyone knew he'd missed out one vital line, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. His head was whirling with implications, and he stared at the parchment again. "So what am I?"

"A wizard about to come of age. The nature I gave you is an enhancement, not a change. If you apply yourself to study, you will be able to tap into nature's magic much as I do. You have the ability to be anything you choose to be, if you put your mind to it."

Harry nodded, and settled back into his seat. It was going to be a long night…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Sirius ambled into the kitchen a little after three in the morning and found Isabella staring out of the window. He crossed over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling as she moved her own hand to cover his. They stood in silence for what felt like forever, and Sirius moved to encase Izzy in his arms, the memory of her body aligned with his at the forefront of his mind.

"Oh Sirius. I don't even know where to begin with everything that needs to be said."

"Do you still love me?"

"More than anything."

"I still love you. I'm having trouble getting my head around all of this, but I know that loving you feels as good and true and right today as it did sixteen years ago."

"Sirius…"

"Please, Izzy, we can talk in the morning. I need new memories of you; I need to know that what I'm feeling is true and that this isn’t all a dream."

Sirius felt Isabella relaxing back into his embrace, and buried his face in her wavy hair. He inhaled her scent deeply, and felt more at home than he had in sixteen years. Silently he took her hand and took her upstairs. The morning was for working out problems.

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage I – The Prophecy; Chapter III – Coming of Age**_

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	3. Heritage I  The Prophecy; Chapter III  Coming of Age

**Title** \- Heritage I – The Prophecy; Chapter III – Coming of Age  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 4457  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

 

"Izzy it's a good idea!"

"Like hell it is! If you think that everyone knowing what I am is a good idea then Azkaban did more damage than I imagined!"

Harry rolled his eyes, and reflected quietly on the last week of his life. He'd learnt pretty quickly that subtlety wasn't a word Isabella was familiar with, and that his temper was definitely a Potter family trait. So much had been said over the past week, and Harry knew that he'd changed more over eight days than the rest of his life combined. He was glad when Dumbledore spoke, because it saved him from having to sound selfish.

"Isabella, think it through. It is a diversionary tactic. The Ministry does not know of your nature, and I doubt Voldemort told anyone but the Death Eaters right in the inner circle. When Severus arrives, we will be able to find out for sure. Hogwarts protects you, and the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher gives you reason to spend time with Harry training him without anyone knowing. You don't admit to the spell, just say you left the country and you're back now. The less you say the fewer questions can be asked."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, holding Isabella's gaze until the witch looked away first. "Isabella, you were a hero in the first war; no-one will be sorry to see you back."

Isabella frowned, and bit her bottom lip gently. "I...it's…"

"What's the problem?"

"I just…I thought I'd…if I'm at Hogwarts all the time then I'm not here and I thought I'd have some time…"

Isabella's voice trailed off, and Dumbledore smiled softly. "Aaah, I see the problem. Well, I can set up your floo to connect to here, allowing you and Sirius to see each other as and when you feel the need."

Harry watched as Isabella's eyes lit up, and she turned to face him. "What about you Harry? What do you think about all of this?"

"I think it's a good idea. It'll give me a chance to get to know you a little better."

Harry felt himself preening at the smile sent his way from Isabella, and then the woman was a flurry of activity. "OK, I've got to get some shopping done, but I need to remove the spell first. That's going to take a bit of planning, and I have a few places I need to go while I'm still inconspicuous. OK, I'm going to go get those things done now, and then I'll lift the spell and sleep off the strain. If anyone wants anything fetching from Diagon Alley let me know, I'm going to go tomorrow.”

Before anyone could respond she was out of the room, and a succession of bangs and curses charted her progress up the stairs. Dumbledore smiled softly, the twinkle in his eyes evident in his voice. "I feared that Isabella would take more convincing than this."

Sirius swapped a look with Remus, and they both turned to stare at Harry, pinning the young man in their combined gaze and relishing the blush that Sirius' words caused him. "Isn't it obvious? Isabella jumped on the first excuse she had to teach Harry in the ways of the Marauders."

Sirius' cackle was cut off by Isabella clipping him round the head as she re-entered the kitchen. "Sirius Black I will be doing no such thing. Wanting to get to know Harry does not translate to wanting to turn him into a juvenile delinquent like you two and his father. Where are the Gringotts keys?"

The twins grinned, and Molly smiled indulgently as Isabella stuck her tongue out at Sirius, and he responded with a rather vulgar sign as he answered, "Bedroom, and we weren't juvenile delinquents."

"I'm sure Severus would beg to differ. Where is he anyway, I thought he'd have come by to say hi by now?"

"Off playing with his potions set trying to convince you into his bed."

Harry choked on his pumpkin juice and turned a startled gaze onto Isabella. "You! And Snape!"

" _Professor_ Snape, and no. I tutored him when we were at school, and Sirius was as childish about it then as he is being now. Is he actually on Death Eater business?"

Dumbledore shook his head, and Isabella nodded softly. "In that case I need to find him and get some replenishing potions; I don't want to pass out with the spell."

"You didn't last time."

"I was twenty-three last time, and sufficiently pissed off to manage such a spell. Don't pout at me Sirius, it's unbecoming. I'd invite you along but you’d only cause trouble. Does he still live at Spinner's End?” 

Dumbledore nodded, and Isabella pulled Sirius into a quick kiss. "I'll be back when I've got all the information I need out of Severus. Be good boys."

With another quick kiss for Sirius, Isabella had stepped neatly on the spot and disapparated. Harry couldn't contain his curiosity, and he blurted out over the crowded dinner table, "She didn’t go out with Snape, did she?"

Sirius snickered, and grinned at Harry. "Merlin no. Didn't stop him asking her out though. Old Snivellus sent her a Valentine one year and she threw up!"

Remus spluttered over his coffee, and shot a glare at Sirius. "Sirius! Isabella had a bad case of the flu complete with a stomach bug, she was in the Hospital Wing for three days and her throwing up was not related to _Severus'_ card.”

Harry caught Sirius' eyes and the older wizard winked at him. "We just didn't tell old Sniv that!"

Harry couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, and he noticed that all the Weasley boys were holding their sides with silent laughter and trying not to meet their mother's disapproving glare. But once Harry had started they all followed, and even Remus had a smile twitching his lips when he spoke. "OK, that's enough. Harry, I need a hand setting up a room for Isabella.”

Harry followed Remus out and up the stairs, the sound of laughter fading fast as they entered one of the dusty old rooms that wasn’t in use yet. As Remus began removing the furniture, Harry felt tension knotting his stomach. "Remus, this spell…it won’t hurt Isabella, will it?"

"No, but it'll drain her. Isabella knows what she's doing, she probably won't even need the replenishing potions, but she likes having a few back up plans. How are you getting on with her?"

"Good, I think. She's…she's interesting, that's for sure."

Remus raised an eyebrow at Harry. "You mean blunt?”

Harry flushed, but Remus didn’t seem offended at all. "Isabella had to be blunt. We adopted her as one of us, and she spent a lot of her life with four boys. We were the only ones that knew of her nature, and we all treated her like a sister. Well, except Sirius."

"Has she…talked about where she's been, with you and Sirius?"

"A little, but no details. Why?"

"I just wondered. I asked her, but she said that it doesn't matter now, that all that matters is what happens from here on in."

Remus had finished with the furniture and gestured to the solitary sofa left in the room, settling himself on it and waiting while Harry got comfortable. "That's true. Don't let it worry you Harry; she isn't withholding information from you. But Isabella has lived a life where no-one could know who she was for sixteen years. When she talks to you, I get the impression that she just wants to share things. She knew James and Lily best of us all, and if she'd stayed here you'd have grown up with that knowledge."

"If she'd stayed here she would have been killed."

"You accept that?"

"I…yeah, I do. I didn’t think I would. I was so angry when Dumbledore told me, and even after things had been explained, I still felt cheated, abandoned somehow. But me and Hermione looked at some records from Wizengamot trials; the things they did to creatures were horrible. I guess…if she'd stayed, she'd be dead, and then I'd have no-one, right? So at least I get a shot at having a family this way."

Remus smiled, and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately. He'd watched Harry grow up considerably over the past few years, and he felt a sense of pride every time he looked at the young man. "Do me a favour Harry?"

"Anything."

"Tell Isabella that."

Remus saw the confusion on Harry's face, and elaborated his point gently. "For all her talk over the past week, I know her, and I know she's worried about over-stepping the line with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, given the slightest encouragement, she will mother you senseless. The people that knew her before, we can adjust to her being in our lives again. For you it is not so easy." Remus paused, and smiled at the faint blush creeping up Harry's cheeks. "I know it's hard for you, because you're walking into an unequal relationship. You have no knowledge of this whirlwind of energy and noise and colourful curse-words that has walked into your life, but she knows you, and she loves you. That must be hard to adjust to. For what it's worth, I think that the more you get to know her, the more you will like her."

Remus stood up and headed to the doorway. Harry was still sat down, lost in his thoughts, and Remus shot him a sympathetic smile. "You should get some rest if you still want to practice apparition tomorrow. Good night, Harry."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

"Severus, no! They'll kill me!"

Severus felt his temper snapping, and glared at the petulant Malfoy brat. "No, Draco, they won't! Your stupidity, your complete unwillingness to accept help when you were drowning in a lake of shit of your own making, led to you failing miserably at the task the Dark Lord had set for you! He will kill you if you do not seek the Order's protection!"

Draco floundered, flinching at his godfather's harsh words. He knew the older wizard was right, but that didn’t mean Draco had to like it. He wasn't used to people telling him anything other than what he wanted to hear. "And what about mother?"

"What about her? Draco, she is in this as deep as Lucius! Do not kid yourself that the beautiful, refined Narcissa Malfoy is any less scheming and conniving than her husband!"

Draco felt his temper spike, and threw the closest thing to hand – a coffee mug – at Severus. "Don't you talk about my mother like that!"

"She is a Death Eater! She may not wear the Mark but she dances to the Dark Lord's wishes! He played you to get you to do his bidding, and you failed! If you truly cared about your mother, you would save her the pain of outliving her child and seek the Order's help! Narcissa will save herself when she is ready!"

Severus didn’t stay to argue with Draco any more, but swept out of the cramped living room, swearing as the doorbell rang. He slammed the door open preparing to hex whoever was daring to bother him, but his curse died on his lips.

"Hello Severus."

"Isabella."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella rolled her eyes and moved to the cupboard where the fire whiskey was kept. She could have done without the argument that was erupting between the people in the kitchen, and her head hurt something chronic. "Sirius, where's the fire whiskey?"

"Two cupboards to your right. Izzy, can you at least pretend to be listening?"

"To you lot arguing? Why?"

Isabella found the alcohol and poured a drink. The argument was escalating, her headache was starting to affect her vision, and when the Malfoy child snarled _'scar-head'_ at Harry she lost her temper. The fire whiskey bottle was brought crashing down onto the counter top, the shattering noise echoing through the over-crowded room and effectively silencing everyone. Allowing her magic to leech out into the surrounding atmosphere, making the crockery tremble, Isabella fixed the blonde boy in a cold glare. "You will watch your language, understand me?"

She had to give him credit; he stood his ground like the idiot he was. Squaring his shoulders he sneered across the kitchen and drawled out, "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

Matching the blonde's posture and sneer, Isabella flicked her hair idly over her shoulder, and bit out. "I am Isabella Potter, and you _will not_ speak to my nephew like that, understand me?"

"You…can't…no such…"

"Shut up. You'll do well to keep in mind that Lucius came away worse off every time we clashed and I doubt you are half as skilled as he was. Now, if you truly want the help of the Light you will submit to any and every test we deem necessary. You will show respect to your elders and consideration to your peers. Your name buys you nothing here except scorn and mistrust. My understanding is you tried to kill Headmaster Dumbledore, but failed miserably. You wasted time and allowed the Order to come and prevent the murder. If we reject you, Voldemort will have you killed. He may even do it himself; I wouldn't know how the man's mind works. So make a choice. Stay here and show a little respect in exchange for your life, or take your chances with the Dark."

Draco sneered, evidently thinking he'd won the battle. "You'll let me leave knowing I could tell Voldemort about you?"

Isabella stepped closer to Draco, invading his personal space and utilising the advantage her heels gave her, matching her to the boy's six two height. Grabbing his chin roughly she tipped his head back, making it so that he had to look up to her. "Voldemort knows more about me, boy, than you can imagine. I, unlike you, am not afraid of him. Now make your choice."

Silence fell, and Isabella rolled her eyes before releasing the blonde, snatching up her drink and downing it. "Right, out on the street it is then."

"No! I'll…I'll do it, whatever tests you want."

"Smart choice. Follow me; I'll set up a room for the remainder of the summer."

Isabella led Draco out, and as soon as the door was shut Dumbledore spoke softly. "Draco will be a pariah at school. I cannot ask you to be his friend, I can only ask you not to be his enemy. I will see you all at the Welcoming Feast. Good evening."

Severus watched as Dumbledore left and turned to leave himself, but was stopped by Sirius' low drawl. "So, Sniv, glad to see Isabella back?"

Isabella had just re-entered the kitchen, and swiped Sirius round the back of the head. "Sirius, stop baiting, it's childish and stupid and I have a headache as it is. Severus, how are you going to play Draco at school?"

"With contempt. The Death Eaters use their children for information, and I must retain my cover. And you? How will you play your miraculous reappearance?"

"The less I say the better. Official line is I fled after the war in fear of my life, and I've come back now out of guilt."

"And how will you explain the fact that the entire wizarding world forgot you existed?"

"Not mine to explain."

Severus raised an eyebrow, but he got no further response from the beautiful woman. His patented raise-brow had most people spilling their darkest secrets, and it was with a distinct edge to his voice that he resorted to vocal requests for information. "There is more going on here than you are letting on."

"Yes, there is. I abandoned my nephew, and I have returned to fight by his side and seek his forgiveness. I am sure I will see you at school, good night Severus."

Severus was out of the front door before he realised he'd been effectively dismissed. Still, with the return of his memories of the brunette had come the return of his feelings, and that was something to be avoided at all costs.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella knocked softly on the door and waited until she heard Draco's voice travel through the wood.

"What?"

Opening the door, she leant against the frame and surveyed the blonde boy coolly for a moment before smiling. "We're having a party, for Harry's seventeenth. You should come down, Sirius bought enough fire whiskey to start a pub, and Molly's been cooking for three days straight."

Draco sneered, his voice dripping saccharine sweetness. "I wouldn’t want to be a burden."

Sighing softly Isabella crossed to sit on the bed next to Draco, putting her hand over the book he was reading and lifting his chin with a finger. "Why make your life difficult? If you are truly against Voldemort then you have no reason to be against us."

"Because you all love me and want me around!"

"No, we don't. But sitting here skulking isn’t earning you anyone's favour. School will be hard for you, Draco; you'd be a lot safer with some people on your team. Besides, Dumbledore told me you'll be moving into the Gryffindor dorms; don't you want to get to know your new roommates?"

"Why are you doing this? I came here and you ripped me to pieces, and now you want me to come and play happy families with you all!"

"It's hardly happy families. I ripped you to pieces because I just wasn't sure. Now I am. You are not your father and you are not a bad person. You're just a little rough around the edges."

"Harry doesn't…"

"Harry wants me at his party, and I have wronged him in much greater ways than you. He isn’t a bad person, any idiot can see that, and I'm sure that he'd be happier burying the hatchet than continuing in a childish battle of words."

"Doesn't seem to have stopped Severus and Sirius!"

Isabella smiled, and shook her head softly. "Yes, well their stupid rivalry should be a lesson to you. Is this honestly what you want, to be completely cut off from everyone around you?" 

Draco went to speak, but Sirius had just leant in the doorway. "You two coming or what?"

"Yeah, we're coming."

Isabella stood up and looked at Draco expectantly. Knowing he was beaten, the blonde stretched the kinks out of his back and followed her down the stairs. The party was already going strong, and Draco skulked around at the edge for a while before making the decision to slip off unnoticed. Shame Potter thwarted him.

"Draco, I didn't think you'd leave that room until school began!" Harry was slurring a little, and he had a slightly idiotic grin on his face and a fire whiskey in each hand. 

Draco rolled his eyes, and prised one of the glasses out of Harry's hand, taking a sip before arching a brow at the inebriated Gryffindor. "Don’t you mean wished?"

Harry grinned, but there was no danger, no anger there. Swallowing down his pride, Draco stuck his hand out and muttered quietly. "Happy Birthday, Potter."

Harry cocked his head to one side and considered the blonde for a moment before reaching out and shaking his hand firmly. "Thanks. Try the quiche; it's amazing, better than Quidditch! Though watch out for Hermione, she's started on her pre-school ranting and she'll grill you on what you've read."

Draco chuckled; strangely elated by the fact they were still holding hands. "I'll bear that in mind. Sorry I didn’t bring a gift."

"Never mind; you'll just have to get a really good one next year!"

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry was lying on his back on the grass watching the stars when he felt someone move next to him. Turning his head to the side, he smiled at Isabella and tried not to trip over his words too badly. "Hey Iz."

"Hey yourself. And well done on hiding your drunkenness. Ron is being sick as we speak."

"Ew."

"Indeed. So; Draco?"

"What about him?"

"How long have you had the hots for him?"

Harry sat up quickly, swaying a little as he looked at Isabella. "What? I don't know…"

Isabella sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest, raising an eyebrow at Harry. "Oh please. I got that same longing I-shouldn't-want-this-but-I-do look off Sirius for months before he did anything about it."

It may have been the drink, or it may have been the soft smile on his Aunt's face. Whatever it was, Harry trusted it as he blushed and mumbled out, "Since last summer."

"Aaah. Well, he'll be around a lot more this year; he's going to be living in Gryffindor tower."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Though I'd try and get a friendship before you jump him."

Isabella waited until the meaning of her words had coloured Harry's cheeks a beautiful cherry red before standing up and holding out her hand. "Come on, it’s getting cold and you need to get some sleep."

It was only as he lay looking at the ceiling later that night that Harry felt the first flush of something warm and welcome in his chest, and he thought back over the past three weeks. He shouldn't be falling this hard, or this fast, but he knew he was. Isabella was everything he'd imagined a family would be, and Harry was reluctant to give that up. He wanted to have someone that loved him for who he was, not what he could be, and he saw glimpses of that in the way Isabella treated him. In the dark, drunken haze of the night, he wished with all his heart for the war to end in his favour. Once the initial awkwardness had been dealt with, Harry had found more and more about the older witch to like. He especially liked it when she ruffled his hair, or did some other such gesture that showed affection. It reminded him of the way Aunt Petunia had treated Dudley, and Molly treated all her children, even him. 

Remus had been right, and when Harry had told Isabella that he truly did understand her actions and wanted to get to know her better, she'd become a lot more open with him. She'd answered every question he had, telling long and involved stories about his parents growing up. Harry found himself excited about school, and the opportunity to learn new skills. As he let sleep claim him he was vaguely aware of a tingling sensation in his skin, but put it down to the alcohol.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry rolled out of bed on Thursday morning feeling severely sick. After throwing up everything he'd consumed the night before, however, he felt considerably better, and stood up to inspect his appearance in the mirror. He'd looked better, but he'd looked worse, and he was about to go back to bed when he spotted a tattoo peeking out from the waistband of his pyjama bottoms. Yanking them down, he stared at his reflection in the mirror in complete panic before bolting down the stairs.

"Isabella?!"

"Kitchen, I have hangover potion."

Harry shot into the kitchen, colliding with Draco and sending the two of them sprawling over the floor. 

"Potter!"

"Sorry!"

Scrambling up, Harry held out a hand and pulled Draco up roughly before pushing his pyjama bottoms lower on his right hip and displaying the marking to Isabella (and the rest of the kitchen, but he didn't really care right now.) "What is it?"

"Your tree. If you're brought up with Dryads it appears on the eve of your eleventh birthday. If not, it appears when you come of age. Which you did, quite drunkenly I might add, at three fifteen this morning." 

"It's my…three fifteen?"

"Yes, you were born at three fifteen in the morning. It's nothing to worry about Harry. All Creatures have a marking that shows them for what they are. Vampires wear the mark of their tribe, werewolves of their pack. Yours is of your tree. Let me get a closer look."

Harry felt supremely stupid, holding his pyjamas low while Isabella stared at the leaf that had appeared on his hip. But then she stood up, and Harry could see the pride in her eyes, and it filled him with a sense of happiness that far outweighed his embarrassment. "Ash leaf; very rare and very powerful. In lore, the Ash tree signifies focus and strength of purpose, as well as the uniting of the inner and outer worlds."

Harry peered down his body, looking at the green leaf tattooed on his hip in quiet awe before something occurred to him. "Are you Ash too, then?"

Isabella shook her head, and pulled her blouse up as she pushed her jeans down. A part of Harry's mind kicked up that he probably shouldn't be looking at his aunt in this way, but he ignored it and focused on the tattoo. "What is it?"

"Fir. In lore, the Fir indicates high views and long sights with clear vision of what is beyond and yet to come. Again, very rare, though less powerful than Ash."

Isabella smoothed her clothes down and smiled gently at Harry. "All of this is important, but for now worry about your apparition test tomorrow. I'll teach you all of this when we're back at school and we have more time. Until then just put it out of your mind, OK?"

"OK. It…will there be anything else?"

"No. Your skills have to be realised, they don't come into play of their own accord. When you've got your timetable, and I've got my teaching schedule, we'll work out a time that we can meet up. I'll explain the theory first, and then we'll get on to putting your talents into practice. Sound good?"

Harry nodded, and was about to take a seat at the table and get some breakfast when he felt a soft hand on the back of his left shoulder, steering him firmly to face the door.

Isabella reached out and guided Harry to the door. "Beautiful as you are, little one, clothes are a pre-requisite for breakfast."

Harry smiled softly, and headed up the stairs to get dressed. As he rooted around for clean clothes, his smile stayed on his face. For the first time in a long time, he felt that he had a fighting chance in this world. Things had moved fast, and there was much left to be explained, but in Isabella, Harry had an ally like he'd never had before. His mind replayed the sound of her voice dancing over the syllables of ' _little one_ ' as he bounded downstairs to get some breakfast.

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage II – The Preparation; Chapter IV – Back To School**_

The exact leaf that is tattooed on Harry's hip (it's important you see this) - [here](http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_management/fm_images/eab_images/related%20images/Ash%20Leaf.JPG)

…and Isabella's tattoo (less important, but kind of cool) - [here](http://www.catnip.co.uk/wallpaper/sapin1024x768.jpg) (and my beautiful beta tells me that she knows this tree by a different name. So yeah – this is a fir tree, sometimes known as Cedar or Cypress…or maybe other names, who knows…) 

Information on the magical properties of trees - [here](http://www.tarahill.com/treelore/trees.html)

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	4. Heritage II  The Preparation; Chapter IV  Back To School

**Title** \- Heritage II – The Preparation; Chapter IV – Back To School  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 4244  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

 

 

Harry smiled as he stared at the table, the sound of his friends' laughter filling his ears. He was always excited about returning to Hogwarts, but this year he had so much more to look forward to. Isabella hadn't been on the Express, but she'd promised to be here for the Welcoming Feast. 

As the Sorting took place Harry paid only the barest bit of attention, focusing instead on scanning the room for Isabella. She was nowhere to be seen, and he felt panic rising in his chest. As Dumbledore began his speech Harry forced himself to pay attention. The Headmaster's words were the same as always; preaching unity and courage in the face of adversity. Suddenly, the doors swung open and Harry heard the rhythmic clicking of boot heels, making him smile softly. 

Isabella knew she looked threatening, but it served a purpose. Dressed in black leather pants, dragon-hide stiletto boots and a crisp white blouse, her cloak billowing around her, she looked every inch the femme fatale; just scary enough to sow seeds of doubt in the right minds. Silence fell in the room and the clack of her heels on the stone flags was the only sound. The barest flicker of her eyes was the only give-away that she was scanning the room, and once she spotted Harry, Isabella inclined her head to him slightly as she headed towards the head table. Dumbledore was smiling indulgently, and she returned with a gentle quirk of her lips.

"Aaah, I was just about to announce you."

"My apologies, I stopped to talk to Peeves and lost track of the time."

"You spoke with Peeves?"

"He attempted to upend an ink bottle on me. He was most upset when I lowered my hood and he realised who I am."

"I doubt Peeves will ever recover from your last altercation."

Isabella nodded and headed around the staff table, taking the seat next to Severus resting her elbows on the table, allowing her chin to rest on her tented fingers as she took a better look around the room, smiling softly in acknowledgement of Dumbledore's introduction. "And this year Defence Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Professor Isabella Potter."

The shocked in breaths echoed as the room looked from Isabella to Harry and back again, like Wimbledon spectators at the final. While the student body busied themselves setting the rumour mills in motion, Isabella spotted Draco sat at the very end of the Slytherin table, a huge gap between him and his housemates. Her musings on Draco were interrupted by the arrival of a sumptuous meal, and Isabella put the blonde out of her mind as she tucked in…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

It took until Monday morning for the Gryffindor seventh years to realise that their number had increased by one, and Harry was woken by the sound of yelling. Groping around for his glasses, the world came into focus and he saw Draco having a screaming match with Dean and Seamus. Neville looked worried, and Ron was still asleep. Swinging his legs out of bed, Harry stretched gently before standing up and moving to step between Draco and the irate Gryffindors.

"Harry, we have to…"

"We have to grow up. Draco's here, there's nothing we can do about it. So just ignore him. Merlin knows that's what the Slytherins are doing. And anything they can do, we can do better."

Seamus scoffed, but lowered his wand a little. "You of all people…"

"Seamus, just ignore him. He isn't stupid enough to start anything. Dumbledore did this, so we can't change it. Whose turn is it to wake Ron up?"

Seamus seemed slightly pacified, and he tossed his wand onto his bed before turning to look at Ron's still form. "Nah, I did it end of last term."

Tossing a rather vulgar sign at Draco, Seamus headed into the bathroom as Dean went back to get dressed. Harry turned and found Draco looking at him in confusion. He shot a small smile at the blonde but turned away before it could be returned or worse, rebuked. 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella straightened her blouse, mint green this morning, and checked herself in the mirror one last time before heading to her first class. 

"Stunning as always Ma'am."

"Stop it you, flattery gets you nowhere."

She laughed as the mirror wolf-whistled and grabbed her outer robe, throwing it around her shoulders before heading out of her private rooms and into the corridor. She wove through the students to the classroom and slipped inside. Most of the class were already seated, and silence fell as she headed up to her desk. Clearing a space she hopped up to sit on the polished wood and crossed her legs neatly. "Is there a reason no-one is sat on the front desks?"

Isabella didn't wait for an answer, just whispered a spell, vanishing the empty desks at the front and moving all the other desks forwards, students and all. The vanished desks reappeared at the back of the classroom and Isabella allowed herself a small smile at the looks of shock on the teenagers' faces. Spotting Draco sat on his own at the back she tutted and spoke crisply. "You, at the back. Your name?"

Draco looked momentarily confused, but played her game for the moment. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy Ma'am."

"I have no intention of shouting, take your things and move to the front. There's an empty seat next to Mr Potter; sit in it."

Draco looked mutinous, but the display of power earlier prevented him from complaining. Isabella kept her expression impassive as she watched Harry shift his bag and Draco take up the seat next to him. Turning her attention back to the room, she saw two other boys at the back and recognised them as Crabbe and Goyle. Moving them to the empty chairs on other tables and filling all the gaps she was finally satisfied. "Okay then, let's get started. My name is Isabella Potter, and I will be your teacher for the foreseeable future. Treat me with respect and I will return the favour. You are all old enough to be treated as adults, so please act like that in my classroom. You will address me as Professor or Ma'am. I will not tolerate insubordination in my lessons; I will be fair but firm. If you have a problem you may speak with me and I will do my best to help you. Deadlines are absolute; if you are not able to meet a deadline you'd better have a damn good reason, and you will give me that reason no later than five days before the assigned deadline. I am not going to chase you up for work; but every day after the deadline that you make me wait, your mark drops by a grade, and you lose five house points."

Isabella paused, making sure that all eyes were focused on her. When she was sure that everyone had understood her words, she smiled gently. "Good. Now, today will be a question and answer session; I ask questions and you answer them. Each right answer earns you a house point. Let's find out how much you know."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

By the end of the first week Isabella was still the only thing any student could talk about. Her teaching style was firm but fair, and Harry was strangely proud that everyone seemed to like her; even the lower year Slytherins couldn't find anything to complain about. He was less proud, however, at the numerous boys who seemed to have developed crushes on her. As he walked into Defence on Friday afternoon, the last lesson of the week, he'd just overheard two Ravenclaw fifth years waxing lyrical about her legs. And it was about to get worse.

Isabella felt more than saw the note being passed, and looked up from her book swiftly. "Mr Zabini, why are you passing notes to Mr Nott in my lesson and not reading the assigned chapter?"

"Sorry Professor."

"Nice try. Bring me that note."

Blaise stalled, and Isabella sighed, rolling her eyes and slamming her book closed. "Mr Zabini, you do not want to face the consequences of making me get that note myself. Now bring it here."

Blaise knew a threat when he saw one, and he knew a lost battle too. Standing up, he took the scrap of parchment to the front and handed it to Professor Potter, slinking back to his seat when she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. 

Isabella read through the note and fought to keep her smirk off her face. She looked up and fixed Blaise in a cool stare. "Honoured as I am, Mr Zabini, that you and Mr Nott are prepared to overlook my blood treachery and _tap_ me, it's hardly a productive way to spend your lessons, is it?"

Harry saw red, and spun around in his seat to glare at Blaise. "Who the fuck are you to talk about my Aunt that way?! You keep your Death Eater hands to yourself you fucking tosser!"

A quick silencing spell prevented the war of words escalating into a full out battle, and Isabella rolled her wand between her fingers as she eyed the startled, muted teenagers carefully. "Mr Potter, you will watch your language in my lesson and speak only when invited to. You will see me at the end of the lesson. Mr Zabini and Mr Nott, you will spend your lessons more constructively than passing notes like second years. Twenty points from Slytherin, and you will both be outside my office at seven this evening for your detention. I will lift the silencing spell, but the next person to speak without permission will be fed to the Giant Squid."

Unsurprisingly, no-one spoke for the rest of the lesson. Isabella raised an eyebrow at Ron and Hermione as they tried to hang back, and waited silently until she and Harry were the only people left in the classroom. Conjuring a chair on the opposite side of her desk, Isabella motioned for Harry to sit down and smiled at him gently. "Admirable as I'm sure your intentions were, you do not speak out in my lessons like that, understand?"

"Izzy, _'tap'_ means…"

"…They want to fuck me?"

Harry flushed, and Isabella tried not to smirk. "Harry, I'm fully aware what their note meant. Let it go; there are more important things for you to worry about. Like your heritage. I assume you've found a routine with your timetable?"

Harry nodded and pulled out his parchment quickly. He waited while Isabella duplicated it and compared it with hers. He was a little surprised when she handed back not only his timetable, but a copy of her own. Isabella seemed to sense his confusion, because she explained herself quietly. "It seems only fair that you can find me if you need me. I'm aware that your implicit trust will be hard to win. This is a gesture of faith."

Harry nodded, and folded the parchment carefully. "How often do you think I should come?"

"Once a week. You are, of course, welcome to come and see me whenever you like, but we will keep lessons to once a week. Friday evenings would be best; they will give you a chance to lie in and recuperate."

"Will I need a lie in then?"

"Not to begin with. But when we get onto the physical side you will be exerting yourself past your comfort zone. You'll be fine, but we may as well give you the option as not."

Harry nodded and met Isabella's eyes. He smiled gently, and the gesture was returned. Before he'd really thought about the implications, Harry was speaking. "I do trust you."

"Harry you don't have…"

"I don't _have_ to, but I do. I know I'm not exactly known for my even temper, and some times I do wonder how you could have left me, sometimes I do get angry and pissed off. But I know, rationally, that you did what was best. And I trust you."

Harry stood up and headed to the door, seeing the unshed tears in Isabella's eyes and knowing that it was his cue to leave. As his hand closed around the doorknob, he heard Isabella call out to him.

"Harry? I remember what it was like to be your age. I meant what I said; whenever you want me, even if it's just to rant and rave at me, I'll be here for you."

Harry turned and shot a smile at his Aunt. "Thanks, that means a lot. I'd better get to dinner, I'm starved. Can we start the lessons tonight?"

"Be outside my office at seven thirty."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry rapped his knuckles on Isabella's door at 7:30 sharp and opened the door, strolling into the office and coming up short to see Severus and Isabella deep in conversation. Both adults looked at him, and Severus sneered. "Do you have so little respect for your Aunt that you will barge in here uninvited?"

Harry opened his mouth, but Isabella spoke over him. "Severus, leave him be. He's here on my request, and I have no problem with him knocking and walking in. We'll continue this discussion later."

"If I have the time."

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "You'll refuse me, Severus, if I ask?"

Harry had the distinct feeling that something was passing between the two of them; they kept eye contact for a long minute before Snape looked away. "And risk offending your mutts? I won't refuse you."

Harry stepped back as Snape swept past him, slamming the door to Isabella's office. He looked at Isabella and raised an eyebrow, but she just shrugged. "Severus is an old friend."

"What were you talking about?"

Isabella flinched slightly, but her smile didn’t falter as she headed to the comfy sofa and motioned for Harry to join her. "Just the war. Severus has been filling me in on all that I missed, and that takes time."

Harry sneered and arched an eyebrow "And does Sirius know?"

Isabella's smile dropped then, and she raised an eyebrow at Harry, waiting until he blushed and squirmed under her gaze. "That is yours to query?"

"I just meant…"

"Think very carefully about what you say here."

Harry looked up and felt fear coil through his chest. It was the first time he'd truly seen how scary his Aunt could be. When directed to him, her expression was always soft, welcoming, indulgent. Now she was cold, closed off, and he shrank back. "Sorry."

Isabella sighed and rested her head in her hands for a moment. She forced herself to calm down; Harry wasn't attacking her. Looking up again she smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm sorry. Severus is a friend. I know you have inherited James' hatred of him, helped along greatly by Sirius, but I get on with him. I would imagine Sirius knows I will talk to Severus while I am here, but it isn't something I explicitly tell him; it would only lead to an argument. Severus is the elephant in the room between us. Neither one will put childhood behind them, so I end up stuck in the middle. But Harry, I'm not going to sit back and let you talk to me like that; it isn’t fair. I know I'm the one at fault between us, but that doesn't make me accountable to you in every aspect of my life."

"I didn't…wasn't saying…"

Isabella smiled and rested her hand over Harry's knee. "I know. I possibly over-reacted. Hearing about the things that have happened in my absence riles me. Harry…Severus is a friend. When we were growing up and I tutored him, he was someone I could talk to on a very superficial level. My group of friends had a lot of secrets, and Severus was outside of that. It was nice to talk to him about developments in potions and variations on recipes. His sarcasm is quite amusing when not wielded as a weapon."

"I…you don't have to explain to me."

"I know I don't. But I want to. I promised you I'd be honest with you; but please phrase things as questions, not seedy accusations."

Harry sniggered, and the tension in the room broke. He glanced up and caught Isabella's eyes, grinning cheekily. "Sure you're not secretly in love with Snape?"

Isabella tossed her head back and howled with laughter. "Damn! Busted!"

Their laughter quietened to gentle sniggers, and Isabella shook her head softly. "Severus is a good man. But he's not Sirius."

Harry nodded, and the smile dropped off his face as he grappled with his question for a moment. "Izzy?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…I mean…why do you trust him?"

"Severus?"

Harry nodded, and when Isabella's smile faded he panicked and tried to back-peddle, but she held up her hand to silence him. "I trust him. Severus made some bad choices; but when he saw how evil the Dark side truly was, he abandoned them."

"But…it was him! He told Voldemort about the Prophecy!"

Isabella nodded, and stood up to find something to drink. "Yes, he did. But Voldemort would have found out anyway."

"But there was only Dumbledore and Trelawney there!"

A shadow crossed over Isabella's face, but it was gone before Harry could do any more than register it. "He'd have found out. What Severus couldn’t have known was what Voldemort would do with that information. And when he realised…that's when he came to us."

"Dumbledore says that but Severus hated my parents! You've said that yourself!"

"He hated James. Harry it's not…you're thinking like a child! The world isn’t black and white like that! I…I don't know _why_ he did, I just know he did. It's hard to explain. I've never had the animosity with him that the guys do, that you do. Harry, I trust him. He's on the same side as me, I know it."

Harry looked up and saw something close to pleading in Isabella's eyes. The witch looked him over for a moment, and seemed to be fighting some kind of internal war before she sat back down and handed him a glass of whiskey. "Harry, I know you have a lot of history, but Severus is fighting for the right side. I know it isn't much of an incentive, but you have to trust me on him, okay?"

Harry nodded, and watched as Isabella swirled the amber liquid before downing it in one. "I believe you. If you say he's on the same side as us, then I believe you. I didn’t mean to upset you."

Isabella sighed and summoned the bottle over, tilting it to pour a hefty shot into her glass. "You haven't, not really. I'm sorry I just…sometimes you sound so like James, and I forget that I can't react with you as I would with him."

"Why not? I'm not a child; I don't need to be protected from anything!"

"No, but I've only been a part of your life for a little under two months. You haven't done enough pissing me off to justify me being snarky with you."

Harry looked up, but Isabella was smiling, and he nodded his head gently in recognition of the teasing. He felt gentle fingers run through his hair and moved into the touch, content to just sit in the warmth of his Aunt's office and be mollycoddled for a while. "Look, much as I trust Severus, I will always kick him out of my office for you. It's getting late, how about we do your lesson tomorrow evening instead this week?"

Harry nodded, and drained his glass, coughing a little as the alcohol burned his throat. As he grabbed his cloak and headed to the door he was stopped by Isabella's hand on his arm, and he turned back to face her. "Harry…you're not angry with me, are you?"

Harry shook his head, flashing Isabella a crooked grin. "Nope, you mad at me?"

"Not at all."

He smiled again, leaning forward to place a quick peck on Isabella's cheek. "Night Aunt Izzy."

"Night Harry, sleep well."

Harry grinned, letting the door click shut behind him. As he walked back to Gryffindor he pondered over his mood. Admittedly, the conversation hadn't been pleasant. But Isabella had been _honest_ with him, and that made all the difference in the world. Glancing at his watch he saw it was almost curfew and sped up; if he timed it right he'd get to watch Draco changing for bed…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella had flooed to Grimmauld Place after Harry left, and was relieved to find Sirius asleep, allowing her to slip out into the quiet street. She focused on the destination she needed, Apparating with a 'crack'. She touched down in a deserted clearing and cast a barrage of charms before setting down to wait for her visitor. Eventually she felt her wards flagging up at the foreign magic and smirked. There was only one type of magic and it amused her how stupid they'd been to trust her. But then again; she'd trusted blindly too.

Stepping out of the shadows she lowered her hood and held her wand out handle first. Her company followed suit, removing the skeletal mask and holding out their wand handle first. This simple act ensured neither of them would strike without provocation, and Isabella knew her companion would uphold this.

"So, Isabella, finally seen the truth?"

"With a little help from a mutual friend, yes. The only question now is how to act without alerting any unwanted attention. I believe that's where you can help me."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry found Draco curled up in the window seat in the boys' dorm, and the blonde cast him a single look before returning to gazing out of the window. Harry rummaged around to find his pyjamas and changed quickly, feeling Draco's eyes on his naked back and slightly disappointed when they flicked away as he shucked his boxers. He pulled on the grey flannel bottoms and turned to face Draco as he pulled on the white tee. "You alright?"

"Fine, Potter."

Harry nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going back downstairs, there's a chess match that might get violent between Ron and Seamus, and someone will have to break it up. Are you sure you're alright?"

Draco looked like he wanted to snark, but bit back on it. He'd only meant to nod, but words came tumbling out of his mouth. "No, I'm not fine."

Harry had been expecting a dismissal, and he was half-turned to leave when Draco's words sunk in. Turning back to face the blonde he saw apprehension in his eyes, and sighed softly. Moving over to the window seat he tapped Draco's knees, forcing the blonde to swing round so that Harry could sit down next to him. "I knew that much, but thanks for being honest. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you care?"

"Would you believe my answer to that?"

"Do you answer everything with a question?"

"Do you?"

Draco tried to scowl, but the impish grin on Harry's face was infectious, and he found himself smirking softly. "Alright. I don't know; I don't see what reason you'd have to care."

"Beyond the fact you're on our side, therefore a friend?"

"I'm hardly your friend, Potter."

Harry rolled his eyes, and nudged Draco in the ribs. "When we're alone, and no-one can see you sullying yourself with me, how about calling me Harry? And you may not be a _friend_ but you're certainly not a foe. If you don't want to talk about it that's okay, but if you do I'll listen. I know how it feels to be isolated, with no-one to talk to."

Draco nodded, and stared down at his knuckles. "Don't laugh."

"I wouldn't."

"I miss my Mother."

Draco tensed; waiting for the ridicule he knew would come. After a few minutes silence he looked up and found Harry watching him with the strangest look on his face. It was beyond Draco to put a word to that expression, but when Harry smiled something inside him shifted hard. "I can kind of understand that. I'm sure she'll be alright."

Draco scoffed, his face darkening. "I thought so too."

When nothing else was forthcoming, Harry nudged Draco again and raised an eyebrow. "Has something happened?"

"I…I thought she…but Severus says she's in as deep as Lucius."

Harry needed a few moments to decipher what Draco meant, and when he did understand he had no idea what to say. So he settled for resting his hand on Draco's knee and squeezing tightly. Draco seemed content with just that, and it wasn't until the blonde swept a hand across his face that Harry realised he'd been crying. 

Draco could have kicked himself. He was fine until Harry touched him. That little show of comfort pushed him over the edge, and silent tears ran down his face. Once he had regained his composure he brushed the tears away and looked up at Harry, surprised to see no sign of mockery on the brunette's face. "Thanks."

"No problem. You want me to stay or…?"

"I'm going to hit the sack."

Harry nodded, squeezing Draco's knee again before standing up and heading down the stairs to a chess game that had taken a violent turn, if the screams were anything to go by…

 

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage II – The Preparation; Chapter V – Learning**_

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	5. Heritage II  The Preparation; Chapter V  Learning

**Title** \- Heritage II – The Preparation; Chapter V - Learning  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 4371  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

 

 

Harry skittered through the halls towards Defence on Thursday morning. They'd had a hard Quidditch practice the night before and he had overslept. A month into school and he hadn't been late to Isabella's class once. Rounding the corner he bolted down the third floor corridor and into the classroom, groaning when he saw that everyone was seated and Isabella was glaring at him. "Sorry Izzy I…"

"Pardon me?"

Harry stopped, briefly wondering why Isabella looked so angry, and then it clicked. "Sorry, Professor Potter, I missed my alarm."

Isabella raised an eyebrow, but decided to let him off the hook on her name. "Much better. How, Mr Potter, did you miss your alarm? Consider very carefully that the five boys you share your dorm with you are all here on time."

Harry flushed, and shuffled his feet. He briefly thought that this must be what having a mother feels like; being made to feel about five years old with a few short sentences, but he soon pulled himself back to the real world. "I'm sorry Professor, I don’t have an excuse."

Isabella gestured at Harry's seat. "Five points from Gryffindor for lateness, five for an appalling lack of camaraderie. When I was in Gryffindor we always woke each other up, kept each other out of trouble."

Harry had been half sat down when he heard that, and he looked up at Isabella in shock. She smirked, and raised an eyebrow. "Your look of shock implies you don't believe me. Are you calling me a liar?"

"Of course not, Professor. Just wondering after your definition of trouble, and keeping people out of it?"

Isabella snickered, and shook her head. "Sit, Imp, and don’t give me gyp. I can pull the legal-guardian string and have you strung up by your thumbs so fast Filch will have an orgasm…" Isabella paused and screwed up her face "…what a disturbing mental image. Moving on. Today we are looking at Unforgivable curses. Which curses can be blocked?"

Unsurprisingly it was only Hermione's hand that shot up, and Isabella tipped her head towards the young witch. "No Unforgivable curse can be blocked, but stronger witches and wizards are able to throw off the Imperius curse. There's a school of thought that the Cruciatus can be thrown off, but most people believe that to be untrue."

"Congratulations Miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor. Now, I don't care what most people believe; the Cruciatus can be thrown off…"

There was a disbelieving scoff from the Slytherin side of the room, and Isabella shot them a dangerous smile. "Ask your mummies and daddies. As I was saying; the Cruciatus can be thrown off, but it is damn near impossible to do. It requires you to keep your head in the face of unimaginable pain. I assume you've covered Unforgivables? Can someone tell me what a Cruciatus feels like?"

Isabella looked up and saw Harry's face darken. She figured none of these kids would know that kind of pain, and was about to carry on speaking when Harry spoke softly. "Like a thousand white hot knives piercing every inch of your skin."

Isabella blanched for a moment, and when Harry met her eyes she saw that he was speaking from experience. Anger boiled in her chest – why hadn't she been informed of this – but she bit back on it and inclined her head, needing to continue with the lesson. "Correct. Keeping your head in that situation is beyond most people, but can be done. For today, however, we will focus on throwing off the Imperius curse. Chapter thirteen in your textbooks details the method. Mr Potter, a word?"

Harry stood up and followed Isabella out of the classroom and into the hallway. She cast a privacy bubble around them and looked at him expectantly. "When, exactly, did you gain such intimate knowledge of the Cruciatus Curse?"

"Someone told me…" Harry's voice cut off as Isabella grabbed his arm and shook him hard. 

"Don't you _dare_ lie to me! Who the hell cast on you?"

Harry shook himself free and stared at a point just past Isabella's head as he spoke. "Voldemort, in the grave yard at the end of fourth year."

Isabella softened, and moved to lean on the wall next to Harry; both of them staring at the brick work in front of them. "I'm sorry. But why didn't you tell me?"

"I…you seemed pretty upset by what I told you, by the whole Triwizard Tournament thing…seemed pointless to add to that."

Isabella sighed and reached out, taking Harry's hand in hers. "Harry, you need to tell me things like that."

Harry nodded, and his voice came out small and scared when he spoke. "I cast Crucio on Bellatrix. After…at the Ministry. I thought Sirius was dead, and I cast it."

"But it didn't work?"

"How did you know?"

Isabella shrugged and squeezed Harry's hand again. "I can see it in your eyes. Plus I know you cast it at Severus last year, when everything was so confused, and I know he blocked you."

Harry hung his head, shame coursing through his veins. He was ready to curl up and die, but then soft fingers caught his chin, and he found himself lost in deep blue pools. "Both times you thought you'd lost someone you respected. It doesn't make it right, but it does make it excusable. Did anything else happen that I should know about?"

Harry shook his head as best he could in Isabella's grip. "No, you now know everything that's ever happened to me. Izzy…I…have you…used one…ever?"

Isabella considered lying for a while; but Harry was living with enough lies right now, and it would be easier to get information out of him if he felt she was being honest. "Yes. I've never used Imperious, though I've threatened Sirius with it enough. I've used Cruciatus, and I've killed."

Harry didn't know what to say, and he was secretly glad when Isabella let go of his chin and he didn’t have to look into the swirling depths of her eyes anymore. They were like a vortex; sucking in everything and seeing it for what it truly was. "I'm not proud of it, by any means. But I've made my peace with it. Harry, what you're too young to understand is that sometimes it's them or you. In the situations you were in, you cast because you knew, on a subconscious level, that if you didn't cast first your enemy would…"

"Snape's on our side, you said so and I…"

"…And you didn't know that at the time. You acted on the information you had, and you acted as anyone else would have. We are at war; and that means making tough choices. Your will to survive… _your will to live_ …is the strongest base urge a being has. It takes a hell of a lot to overcome that. I've lived through this war once, and I tried to do the right thing, but it cost me more than I was willing to pay. This time around, my only concern is the safety of those I love. Beyond that, anyone else is collateral."

Harry gasped, and looked up at Isabella. "You honestly believe that? You'd let an innocent die?"

"If it was a choice between an innocent or you, Sirius or Remus then yeah, I would. But you're assuming that people can be innocent in war. With what will happen, people must pick sides; abstaining from choosing does not keep you innocent, it makes you a coward. Look, now is not the time; can we talk about this later?"

Harry nodded, and was about to open the door when Isabella took his shoulder gently. "Harry, I know it seems hard and unreasonable, but you have to tell me every little detail, no matter how trivial you may think it is, so I know what to focus on in our private lessons."

Harry nodded, and Isabella shot him a smile, only allowing it to drop when Harry had turned away from her and could no longer see her expression…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry spent the next few days thinking over what Isabella had said to him. As people began to accept her being back in the wizarding world, stories about her began to circulate. Those that remembered the war first time around spoke highly of her, but with a sense of apprehension. He wanted to ask her about the stories, but wasn't sure how to broach the subject. 

He'd been in Hogsmeade the day before and overheard a conversation in the Three Broomsticks that made him pause for thought. Madame Rosmerta had been talking to some of the locals when Isabella had walked in and bought a bottle of whiskey. She'd left soon enough, but conversation had picked up. Rosmerta, and two older wizards, immediately fell into conversation about her, and Harry remembered their words.

_"…can't believe the Ministry hasn’t questioned it?"_

_"Well, none of us did – I haven't thought about her once in sixteen years!"_

_"Shocking really, considering what she did in the war."_

_"Exactly! I for one feel much safer knowing she's only up the road!"_

_"What do you two mean? Rosmerta?"_

_"Well; she was one of the first to realise that the Death Eaters weren't going to play by the rules. She was always fair, but ruthless with it. Between her and Alastor Moody, Azkaban was filled. And I heard that she's the one that got Alexis DuPree talking."_

_"The one that gave his confession and never spoke again?"_

_"The same!"_

_"How did she do that?"_

_"No-one knows. The Ministry were very tight-lipped about the whole thing, and then she disappeared right after James and Lily were murdered."_

_"See, that makes no sense to me Rosmerta; why would she leave her nephew, and she's engaged to Sirius Black! The man that murdered her brother!"_

_"Well, I don't know why she did it."_

_"Cowardly, if you ask me."_

_"Possibly. But I remember her at school; she always knew more than everyone else. That woman's mind makes connections where no-one else's can. She's learnt that off Dumbledore. All I know for sure is that her being back will have put the frighteners on a lot of Death Eaters, maybe even You-Know-Who himself!_

 

After hearing all that, Harry had done a bit of digging through old Daily Prophets from the war. Most people supported her, but some questioned her actions. And with what she'd said to him on Tuesday, Harry had been up all night thinking it over, and as the sun broke on Sunday morning he grabbed his cloak and the Marauder's Map and headed down to her private rooms.

He checked the map and found Isabella in her rooms, so headed there, grinning at the painting of a warrior princess. "Hey Kate, can you ask Isabella if I can come in?"

The woman nodded and disappeared from the frame for a few moments, returning with a demure smile. "Isabella says to put the coffee on, and she'll be with you in a minute."

"Thanks Kate"

The woman nodded at him as she swung the portrait open, and Harry stepped through the doorway and into Isabella's rooms. He moved through the lounge and into the kitchen, setting the water to boil as he measured coffee into the cafetiere. Adding the water to the fresh grounds he stirred once and allowed the coffee to brew. He was just pushing the filter down when Isabella walked into the kitchen, dressed in tight dark jeans and a light blue shirt, tied at the waist. "Hey Harry, sleep okay?"

Harry nodded, focusing on the coffee as he poured it out and moved into the living room, settling on the couch as Isabella curled up in a chair. "So, want to tell me why you're visiting at six in the morning?"

Harry opened his mouth but didn't speak, still searching for the words that seemed to elude him. Isabella blew on her coffee before taking a sip, knowing what Harry wanted to talk about. "Before we start; I haven't lied to you. Just like you kept things from me to save my feelings, I glossed over some things for you. Call me sentimental, but I would like my nephew to have a stronger image of me than that of a ruthless murderer."

"I don't think you're a ruthless murderer. I just…I don't know. I have this image of you, and while it isn’t a false image, it isn't the whole truth either. I just…I don't know. I hear conversations, and I guess I never really questioned that you being an Auror meant you weren't as nice with everyone else as you are with me. I don't think I really have a question."

"Just want some reassurance?"

Harry flushed a little, and nodded, but Isabella didn’t seem upset or offended by him. "I never acted in a way I couldn't justify. At the end of the day Harry, we're only answerable to ourselves and whatever higher power we may believe in. I've told you that I've done things I'm not proud of, and that's the truth. There is no pride to be found in torturing a man for information, no matter what the ends are that require those means. But I have no regrets."

"Can you tell me? I mean…I found out some stuff, but it was all a little vague?"

"Telling you would be difficult. It's hard to explain. I'll show you."

Isabella set her coffee down and summoned over a pensieve, extracting a memory and dropping it into the water. He nodded at her raised eyebrow and reached out to the pensieve, breaking the cool surface and feeling his body pulled into the depths of Isabella's memories. They were in a dark room, and Harry felt Isabella land next to him. She'd managed to bring her coffee in with her, and she pulled Harry by the arm to lean against the wall and watch the memory unfold…

 

_"Ready to talk yet, Alexis?"_

_The lithe, dark haired man spat out obscenities at Isabella, but they were laced with strain; he'd been here a while. "Fuck you! Blood Traitor Whore!"_

_Isabella stepped into the pool of light that illuminated the chair Alexis DuPree was shackled to. Her hair was scraped back into a pony-tail and she wore black leather pants and a black vest. She set a silver tray down on the little table next to Alexis' chair and rolled her wand between her fingers as he looked at the surgical implements. "Come on now Alexis; surely you're tired of fighting?"_

_The man shook his head, his mouth moving up and down but no sound coming out; his eyes riveted on the shiny steel tools. Isabella's voice had a strange, lilting quality; making her sound like a caricature of a mother; a sweet sing-song voice used with a young child spilled from her lips. "A-le-xis. Come on Alexis, be a good boy for me. You've been such a naughty boy, aren’t your tired of being punished for it?"_

_"Not…you…won't..."_

_"Don't say that. Come on Lexy, I can help you. I can make the pain stop. You want the pain to stop, don't you?"_

_"Won't…"_

_"No one will know. If you talk to me Lexy I'll never tell anyone. I just need to know."_

_The man trembled as Isabella ran her fingers down his cheek before pushing his tattered, blood-stained shirt open, letting it hang off his bound hands. His chest was covered in scars, and the temperature in the room dropped to almost freezing as Isabella moved to kneel in front of him. "Come on Alexis, I don't want to have to hurt you any more today. Just tell me where the others are and I'll go."_

_Alexis shook his head, but he was beginning to break. In the small, dark, windowless room there was no way to measure time, no way to know how long he'd been down here, subject to this interrogation. He'd witnessed horrors substantially greater than what was happening down here, but never executed with the cold, calculating rationality of the Light's poster girl. He raised his eyes and tried to snarl, but all that came out was a gurgling sound, and she smiled wryly. "Alexis, your body can't take much more, just tell me what I want to know. Where are they? One little sentence, and all of this goes away."_

_The temperature in the room was fluctuating; no longer cold but scorching hot, yet Isabella was unaffected by it. Alexis was not so lucky, and his vision swam as his body failed to keep up with the room. She was soft and quiet today, no raging like she had yesterday, or the day before…he couldn't remember which. He watched as she picked up the scalpel, moving it over to his chest tracing the path of a bead of sweat; the blade pressing only hard enough to leave a red mark. She overtook the bead, nicking his skin and allowing the salty liquid to seep into the small wound, stinging something chronic. Then the scalpel was replaced, and a much larger knife was picked up._

_Alexis took one look at it and hung his head as his lest strand of resolve broke. He had no doubt that the woman in front of him would mutilate him without batting an eyelid, and he realised that this must be how every victim of his had felt. "The Lestrange estate in the Lake District."_

_Isabella set the knife down and nodded curtly. "Don't ever make me wait this long again."_

_A whispered spell and Alexis went limp in his bonds. Isabella glared at him for a moment before sweeping back into the dark shadows…_

 

Harry stumbled a little as he came out of the memory, and he was grateful for Isabella's steadying hand. Once his centre of balance was stable, he moved to sit on the sofa and mused over what he had seen. When he looked up Isabella was watching him with a hint of nerves in her eyes. "What did you find, at the Lestrange's house?"

"A lot of bodies. Eight Death Eaters. Plans for an attack on Diagon Alley which we were able to fend off. A whole pile of Dark Artefacts. It was a good raid."

Harry nodded, and closed his eyes, opening them again when Isabella questioned him softly. "Harry?"

"I get it."

Isabella scoffed, and Harry grinned at her. "I really do. I just needed to know, you know?"

Isabella nodded softly, and drained her coffee. "I know it's abrupt, but I have somewhere to be. I'll be back this evening, we can talk more then."

Harry nodded, heading back up to the dorms to take a shower before breakfast.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Draco was woken up by the sound of panicked shouting, and he glanced at the clock, seeing it was nearly four in the morning on Monday. He pulled the covers back and saw the Gryffindor boys huddled around Harry's bed. The brunette was writhing and screaming, in the throes of a violent nightmare, and seemed impossible to wake. Draco darted over to the bed and climbed onto the pillow, grabbing Harry's head and holding it still as the rest of him thrashed.

Seamus and Dean both drew their wands, and Ron yelled at Draco. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Stopping him getting brain damage! Go and get Professor Potter!"

No-one moved, and Draco glared at them. "Now!"

It was Neville who jumped up and ran out of the dorm room. The boy could really move when he wanted to, because less than ten minutes later they could hear him coming back up the stairs, accompanied by the clicking of boot heels. Draco was desperately trying to wake Harry, but it seemed impossible. Isabella took one look at him and shot over to the bed, shooing Draco away as she leant over Harry. 

Harry was in hell, pain wracked through his body, every curse thrown at the Death Eater hit him as well. He couldn't get out of Voldemort's head, couldn't back away, and the pain was going to destroy him. As Voldemort turned away from the Death Eater to face Harry, a cool, calm presence washed over him. "Let your mind relax. Let me in and I'll get you out of here."

Isabella held tightly to Harry as she forced her way through his wards, and spoke softly to him. For a moment the writhing increased, but then it stopped. Green eyes flew open, and for a split second Harry looked up at her in absolute horror, then he threw himself into her arms, sobs wracking his body as he clung to her desperately.

Isabella kept a tight hold on Harry, stroking his back and murmuring soothing noises and words to him. The other boys had moved back, unsure of what to do, but she ignored them in favour of calming Harry down. It took almost ten minutes for the soul-destroying sobs to cease into soft sniffles, and a further five before Isabella was certain Harry was lucid enough to talk. But as she began to pull back to meet his eyes, he tensed in fear and clutched at her painfully. "Don't!"

"Sssshhh, it's alright, I'm not going anywhere. Can you walk?"

Harry tried to focus his scattered mind, but he couldn't manage it. His silence must have answered Isabella's question, because she laid him back on the bed and stroked his wet cheeks softly. "You're safe, I'm right here."

Harry didn't want to go back to sleep, but he felt a faint brush of Legilimency, caressing his thoughts and lulling him to sleep even as he tried to fight it.

Isabella helped Harry's mind back to sleep, protecting him from any further assaults, and turned to face the other boys. "It was a very bad nightmare, and I think Harry would rather you didn't talk about it."

She waited until she got nods from the boys before drawing the curtains around Harry's bed, sitting up against the headboard and moving Harry's head into her lap, stroking soft black hair gently as her mind raced.

Draco climbed back into bed, but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Of all the questions raised, the most important was why Isabella was fully dressed at four in the morning…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry woke up slowly, and briefly wondered whose legs he was resting on. Gentle fingers were combing through his hair, and for a moment he felt quite at peace. Then the memories of the night before hit him, and he tried to jerk up only to be caught in a firm grasp. "Take a deep breath, you're safe here."

His subconscious recognised Isabella's voice, and Harry relaxed into her arms, breathing deeply as he trembled. Eventually he could think straight, and he shifted a little on the bed, moving to sit up. Isabella watched him, and he paused for a moment before sitting next to her, resting his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist. She didn’t miss a beat in cuddling him close, her fingers moving in soothing circles on the small of his back. "What happened to me?"

"As far as anyone is concerned, you had a violent nightmare and you don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Harry nodded his understanding and felt a gentle kiss being placed against his hair. "Voldemort trapped you in his mind and used the bond to torment your body. Can you tell me what you saw?"

"Torture…he was…it was a Death Eater. I kind of fell into his mind, like a dream. He was torturing a Death Eater, for being a traitor…oh Merlin it was Snape it…"

"Harry, Snape was in Hogwarts last night."

"How can you be sure?!"

Isabella moved one hand from Harry's forearm and picked up a piece of parchment that Harry recognised as the Marauders Map. "I checked. Keep going."

"It…after a few minutes it was like he noticed me…and then every curse that hit the Death Eater, it hit me too, and I couldn't get away from him."

Isabella returned her hand to Harry's forearm, holding him tight and waiting while the renewed trembling calmed down. "Did Voldemort say anything to you?"

"I don't think so…he just laughed…no wait…one thing."

"What?"

"He said _'She isn't your saviour'_ "

Harry felt Isabella tense briefly, and then sigh softly. "And that's everything?"

"Yes. What happened…why does this keep happening to me?"

"It's just mind games. He's trying to destroy you. You need to forget it, and try to move on. I'll give you something to protect you while you sleep. Come on, you have to get through your lessons. Just last out until your double period with me this afternoon; it's your last lesson and it’s theory so I'll turn a blind eye if you zone out. Come on; stressing over it won't help. We can talk it out tonight."

"Are you going to tell Dumbledore or shall I?"

If he'd been less shaken up, Harry might have noticed the shadow that flickered across Isabella's face. As it was, he remained blissfully unaware of anything except the soothing tone of her voice. "Harry, he's got a lot to think about right now. I mean, if you want to then tell him, he can probably help you more than I can…"

"No, you're right. I'll be fine, I've got you. I'm going to have a shower; can we talk later?"

Isabella nodded, smiling at Harry as he headed into the bathroom. She shook her head softly; there was something about men that just made them so easy to manipulate…

 

 

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Severus couldn't quite believe what he'd learnt the night before, and he stormed through the halls of Hogwarts as soon as he had a free lesson. He didn't bother knocking on the door to Isabella's classroom, just walked in and up to her desk, ignoring the startled 'meeps' of her third year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, and Isabella's raised eyebrow. Casting a silencing bubble around the two of them he glared down at her. "Pray tell, Isabella, when did you join the legions of the Dark Lord?!"

 

_Continued in **Heritage II – The Preparation; Chapter VI – Blow Out**_

 

Harry's description of Cruciatus is paraphrased from page 573 UK edition GOF.

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	6. Heritage II  The Preparation; Chapter VI  Blow Out

**Title** \- Heritage II – The Preparation; Chapter VI – Blow Out  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 5093  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

 

Harry was thinking about Draco while he showered. Draco had been stone-walling him ever since his nightmare almost two weeks ago, and much as Harry would have liked to confront him over it, he had a lesson with Isabella to get to. Now that his questions regarding his heritage had been answered, Isabella had promised to start teaching him about the new magic source he could access. 

Draco walked idly into the dorm room, and battled with his mind. Harry had been in pain, unimaginable pain, yet the memory of him writhing on the bed, head in Draco's lap, caused warmth to curl through his groin. It was wrong, but it was real, and Draco mused over it quietly as he found his towel and some clean boxers. He jumped when the door to the bathroom opened; he didn’t realise anyone was in here, and something else jumped when he saw it was Harry…dripping wet and stark naked.

Harry was rubbing his hair with the towel as he wandered back into the dorm, and was surprised to see Draco. For a few seconds they looked at each other, and then Draco's eyes travelled slowly down his body. Harry felt lust jolt through him at the faintly predatory look that filled Draco's gaze, and when the blonde's eyes hit his crotch, and a pink tongue darted out to wet plump lips, Harry thought his head might explode. It was lucky he'd had a quick wank in the shower, as his body was still too sluggish to respond to such stimulation.

Draco's eyes fixated on Harry's groin, and he licked his lips subconsciously. Oh yes…that was a cock. It was only when the impressive organ twitched that Draco came back to himself and reality hit, hard. He flushed, and looked up into a positively Slytherin smirk. "See something you like, Draco?"

Trying not to jump Harry took all the energy normally used for snark, and Draco blushed in mortification when he opened his mouth and all that came out was a squeak. He looked up at the sound of Harry's sniggering, and looked straight into deep green eyes. Harry's laughter cut off abruptly, and they stared at each other, both feeling the same pull, both taking a step forward before Draco's self-preservation kicked in and he turned away, grabbing his pyjamas off the bed and heading into the bathroom, not a word spoken to Harry.

 

 

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Harry was late to his lesson with Isabella; he'd had to nip into a broom cupboard for five minutes, cursing his hormones as his spilled over his fist. It was nearly quarter to when he finally knocked on the door and heard Isabella's voice drifting through. "Come in."

Harry slipped in and found himself under the full force of Isabella's glare. Then she smirked. "Draco keeping you busy?"

Harry flushed, and ducked his head as Isabella laughed. "How did you know?"

"Talent. I can sense it too, one of the Creature bonuses to recognise attraction."

Harry looked up and raised an eyebrow, prepared to put his shame to one side in light of this information. "Do I…are we…Creatures…bonding"

"Harry, you've started this question four times, let's cut this part out. A true Dryad has a Mate, and they bond, and it is unstoppable. We are not true Dryads. We have a Mate, but we have choice over them to a degree."

"Is Draco my…"

"You might want to work up the courage to kiss him before you start down the Mate route. That's something you must work out for yourself. I only know because I read your aura. It's thrumming with desire and arousal, as well as satiation. Which was something I didn't really want to know, but I'll deal somehow."

Harry just skimmed over that, some things were better left unquestioned by the mind. "Is it hard, reading auras?"

"Not when you've been doing it as long as I have. You learn not to see them unless you want to see them."

Harry grinned, his embarrassment forgotten, replaced with cheekiness. "You were looking for my aura then?"

"But of course. I keep yours, and a select few others, in my vision at all times. Now, do you want to learn, or do you want to have the little wizards talk?"

"Less of the little, thanks! And I'm seventeen – I've got the basics down."

"Oh yeah? Secret slut?"

"I wish. Draco…it's really weird. I don't know what he wants. He won't even talk to me after that nightmare that woke everyone."

Isabella considered her options, and decided that a titbit of honesty would work wonders with Harry. She smiled, gently, which turned into a full-blown smirk as her words coloured Harry's cheeks. "The sight of you writhing on the bed has him flustered; he knows he shouldn't like it, but he does. Hence the not speaking to you."

Harry felt embarrassment course through his veins as his cheeks heated up, and he ducked his head when Isabella's smirk turned into laughter. "Oh Harry. Look, follow your heart, always use a protection spell, and have a little patience. You and I both know Draco won't make the first move. Now, you ready to learn?"

Harry nodded, and Isabella grabbed her cloak, leading him out of the school and to a clearing by the lake where they were secluded from the school. They stood on the pebbled shore and Isabella moved behind Harry, taking his hands in hers and holding his arms out. She rested her head on his shoulder and spoke softly in his ear. "Focus on yourself. Take deep, even breaths and allow your mind to go blank, as if you were preparing for Occlumency. Listen to the sounds around you, but don't think about them."

Harry could feel Isabella's chest rising and falling behind him, and he matched his breathing to hers. Her hands were warm around his, and the mist rolling off the lake was cold on his face. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds; animals in the forest calling to the night, gentle waves breaking on the shore as the Giant Squid breached the water's surface, Isabella's breath next to his ear. Slowly, the sounds fell away, and the silence left behind was all-consuming, but not oppressive.

Isabella's voice broke through the silence; in him and outside of him at the same time. "Good boy. Focus on yourself, on the magic you hold in your body. Feel it course through your cells, little jolts of electric energy. Once you've found it, follow it back to source. That's your magical core, your soul."

Harry murmured back his assent, and focused his mind on his body. For a long time he felt nothing, but then something jolted in his left forearm. He took that feeling and began searching for it elsewhere, finding the same jolts running through other parts of his body. He picked one and followed it, feeling the jolt run along his leg and around his waist before settling near his right hip. Warmth and calm washed through him, and he felt Isabella smiling. "That's it little one, you've found it."

Harry smiled back, and tentatively felt out the source of his magic, of his being. After what felt like hours, Isabella spoke again. "Nearly there, Harry. Move away from your core, and feel the atmosphere around you. There is magic in everything, if you concentrate you can feel the jolts in the air."

Harry wasn't sure if he was vocally speaking or not, but Isabella seemed to hear him. "How do I get it?"

"Magic likes to be used. Open your core to it and it will come to you. Trust that it won't harm you. It will feel slightly different to your own magic."

Harry nodded, and focused his awareness on the outside world. He felt the sense of calm beginning to slip, but Isabella pulled him back into himself. "No, little one. Look out from your own awareness, don't leave your body."

Harry tried again, but again he felt himself slipping before Isabella pulled him back. "I can't."

"You can. Your body is a telescope, the magic is the stars. Look through yourself to find the magic."

Harry tried again, moving his focus back to his core for a few minutes first. As his focus moved outwards, he felt the jolts of electricity that ran around him. He relaxed himself further, and twitched as one of the jolts brushed his fingertips. The magic entered his body carefully, like a skittish animal, and he felt as the foreign magic moved through him. His own magic moved up, embracing the added power, and then thousands of jolts of raw magic were entering him, crashing through his veins, learning his body and his magic, begging to be used in casting. Harry moaned, the sensations more pleasurable than any he'd felt before as he gave over his body as nothing more than an outlet for the magic.

As the magic rushed out of him again, Harry slumped, glad of Isabella's arms guiding him to his knees. His body was alive with sensation, and it took long minutes for him to come down from the high, and realise his clothes were clung to his sweaty skin, and his boxers were sticky with release. "Gods…"

Isabella muttered a cleaning charm and stroked Harry's hair softly, watching his blown pupils come back into focus. "It's an intense experience the first few times. Feels like more pleasure than you can handle, stealing you from yourself?"

Harry nodded, still too breathless to properly answer. When he was finally calm, he looked up and met Isabella's eyes. "That was…I can…I can use all of that?"

"If you practice. For now, Harry, practice only with my guidance. Like any extreme of sensation, you can lose yourself in pursuit of it. We weren't speaking aloud before, but telepathically. You need someone to ground your mind."

"I wondered…I won't. Practise without you, that is. I…I feel…"

"Alive. I know. Come on, you need to go and calm down. Come and see me in the morning, we'll talk this through."

Harry nodded, leaning on Isabella as they walked back to the castle. She walked him to the common room, and he placed a goodnight kiss on her cheek before heading through the portrait hole. It was gone midnight, and he expected the common room to be empty, but spotted a pale head in the chair next to the fire. Harry acted on impulse and crossed over to sit on the opposite chair, smiling warmly at Draco. "Hi, you're still awake?"

Draco had been waiting up for Harry to return safely, for reasons he was not prepared to fathom out right now. "Couldn't sleep. Been somewhere exciting?"

"With Isabella, learning about what I can do. It was…it was amazing, Draco!"

Draco raised an eyebrow as Harry got up. The brunette was thrumming with energy as he spoke quickly, gesticulating with his hands. "It felt like…like nothing on earth. All this power, and sensation running through me. Gods, Draco! The universe is amazing, so big and powerful and consuming and I'm a part of that, and I can feel it in my veins, in every cell, and it's…it's…"

Harry trailed off, unable to find the right words, and he looked up at Draco. The blonde was smiling at him, genuinely smiling, and he was beautiful. Harry forgot what he had been trying to explain, and just stared at Draco as the blonde stood up. "I'm happy for you, you sound really…"

Draco was cut off in the most brutal way, as Harry stepped up to him and pulled him close, closing the gap between their bodies and kissing him firmly. Draco was stunned, and as he brought his arms up to push Harry away his shirt rode up, and Harry's fingers moved to the soft, pale skin of Draco's back. They both felt the crackling connection, and Draco changed his course of action, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and melding to the brunette.

Harry felt Draco's lips part under the onslaught of his tongue, and explored the blonde's mouth hungrily, holding him tight and completely uncaring that anyone could walk in and see them. Finally he satiated himself, and as he pulled away from the kiss Harry saw Draco's eyes open, grey pools laced with many emotions. Harry saw the shock, and stepped back quickly. "I…uh…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

For a moment, a little dove of hope had lived in Draco's chest. Harry's look of horror, and apology, killed it. He locked his emotions down under the Malfoy Mask and shook his head. "Mistake. No worries."

"No Draco it…" Harry's voice trailed off as Draco turned and moved swiftly out of the common room. He hung his head, murmuring quietly to the empty room. "It wasn't a mistake."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella looked up from the morning paper as the door to her quarters swung open and Harry walked in. She could tell immediately what was wrong, but sensed that Harry needed to tell this himself. "Harry, sleep alright?"

"No! It…I…no!"

Isabella hid a smirk and set the paper down, pushing Harry gently onto the sofa and heading into the kitchen, returning with two cups of coffee and setting them down on the coffee table. "What's happened?"

"I don't know! It…I…I didn't mean to!"

"Didn't mean to what?"

Harry paused and took a deep breath, organising his thoughts into some kind of comprehensible statement before speaking. "When I got back last night, Draco was in the common room. And he asked what I'd been doing, and I started to tell him. And he smiled at me, not that stupid smirk but a smile and I just…I…" Harry's voice dropped to a whisper, and he shook his head softly. "He was so beautiful. I had to touch him, kiss him."

Isabella fought to keep her smile off her face – things were working as she'd planned – and reached out a hand to run through Harry's hair. "What happened next?"

"I kissed him. And he…uh…kissed back. It was…Izzy it was…I touched his skin and it was like…like I had no control over myself for a moment…I wasn't thinking about it, just doing it. But when I pulled away he looked shocked, and I went to apologise, for taking it so far, but he closed off and second guessed me, thinking it was a mistake and leaving and now…what do I do?"

Isabella sighed and shifted closer to Harry, pulling the young wizard into her arms and cradling him softly for a while. "Give him some time, okay. Things will work out for the best, I promise. When you say you felt like you'd lost control…what do you mean?"

"It felt like…when I touched his skin it felt like crackles of energy. Like the magic outside, but it wasn't magic it was s~…it wasn't magic."

Isabella didn't push, but she raised an eyebrow to let Harry know his abrupt change was fooling no-one. "Fancy a walk into Hogsmeade? I need some ink, and you need to walk off some tension. Draco will come around; he'd be an idiot not to."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry couldn't sleep, and he pulled out the Marauder's Map. Opening it up quietly he watched the little dot that was Draco move about in bed until he was sure the blonde was awake. Stuffing the map under his pillow, Harry slipped out of his bed and over to Draco's. He slipped between the curtains quickly, and sat down on the bed before Draco could do any more than turn over and glare at him.

"Potter…"

"Shut up. You've been ignoring me all week. That's three damn weeks now that you've ignored me. So shut up. I wasn't going to say it was a mistake. Well…it kind of was. But it wasn't."

"Eloquent as always. Get out of my bed before I start screaming."

Harry shrugged and stood up, getting to the curtains before he heard Draco's voice, the blonde trying to hide his hurt but failing. "Off so easily?"

Harry turned slowly and held Draco's eyes, refusing to look away first. "Want me to fight for you? I meant to apologise, Draco, because I didn't mean to kiss you like that. I was on a high, and it went a little further than I would have liked. When I pulled away you looked shocked, and I panicked that maybe I'd read you wrong."

Draco's heart leapt, but Malfoy training kept his sneer in place. "You did."

Harry rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath. "Fine. I tried, and you rebuked me. Don't think I'm going to beg for you. I apologise for crossing the line."

Draco opened his mouth, but his heart had taken over too late, and by the time he'd begun to speak Harry had gone, the indentation at the foot of Draco's bed the only sign Harry had ever been there.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Draco slept badly, but he wasn't going to open himself up to the hurt that Harry could cause him. So Draco decided to pretend nothing had happened. He'd simply make himself as cold as the late October weather. But then two things happened very quickly to change his mind. First, Harry came out to his friends, preparing to come out in public. Second, Romilda Vane decided she wanted Harry for her own. The final showdown came in the middle of dinner on Friday night. Romilda had asked Harry out, and as he kept refusing, her voice got higher and higher, and more of the school stopped eating to watch.

"But you're not seeing anyone else and I would be so good for you!"

"Romilda, I can't."

"Why not?! Don't you think I'm pretty?"

"It's not that it's…"

"So you do think I'm pretty! Then we should go out!"

Draco watched as Harry floundered for words, and Romilda began to get a look of satisfaction on her face. Standing up, he walked over to where Harry was sat and glared at Romilda. "Harry can't go out with you."

"Why the hell not, and who asked you?"

"Your public performance invited me into this discussion, and Harry can't go out with you because Harry is going out with me. And I have better hair. Now vamoose."

Romilda took exactly three seconds before she burst into tears and fled the hall, and Draco smirked to himself, summoning over his plate and shoving the Weaslette along the bench, sitting down opposite Harry, who looked half-amused, half-shocked. "I am?"

Draco smiled. "Yes, you are."

Harry raised an eyebrow, and then smiled back at Draco. "Yeah, okay, I am."

Against all rational prediction, it was Neville who slumped over his plate in a dead faint, but that was more to do with the fact Draco Malfoy was smiling than anything else. 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Dinner had become a farce of whispers, and Harry had suggested he and Draco take off only five minutes after the performance. They walked slowly through the halls, neither quite sure how to break the silence. As was the way, both started speaking at the same time, and Harry tailed off with a nervous laugh. Draco smiled softly, and decided it was probably his turn to be mature. "I guess…I panicked a little. I don't like not being in control, and when you kissed me I was so far from in control it isn't even funny."

"I know. It felt like…"

"Like nothing on earth. I've never kissed anyone like that before."

Harry mumbled something, and Draco raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"I've never kissed anyone like that either."

Draco took in the blush, the downcast eyes and the hunched posture, and smirked. "Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"Yes!" 

"Who?"

"Cho!"

"Chang? When?"

"Fifth year."

Draco sniggered, but stopped when he saw the embarrassment flood Harry's eyes. He reached out a hand and rested it on Harry's shoulder. "I think it's nice. But, if you've never kissed a guy, how do you know you're gay?"

It was Harry's turn to smirk. "Things I think about, there's no way I could be straight." He set off towards Gryffindor Tower, tossing one last remark over his shoulder to a startled Draco. "Besides, I kissed you, and that led to firm, repeated confirmation of my sexuality."

Draco goggled after Harry, the brunette so shy and demure one minute, and coy and alluring the next. Shaking his head to clear the fog, he set off after Harry.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry knew there had been words among his friends when Hermione came up to the boys' dorm with the rest of the seventh year boys. He was sat on his bed with Draco, notes scattered around them as they worked on Isabella's latest assignment. While Hermione seemed happy to flounce over and plonk herself next to Draco, getting her own work out and making a start, the others looked wary. It was Seamus who worked up the courage to speak, his accent heavier from emotion. "You can't…do stuff with him! Not where we all sleep!"

Draco looked royally pissed off, but Harry smiled sweetly at Seamus. "We'll do no more than you've done in the confines of our dorm room, Seamus."

Seamus flushed a brilliant pink, and so did Hermione and Ron, much to Draco's amusement. As Ron came over and sprawled out on his bed, pulling out his own work and looking hopefully at Hermione, Draco allowed himself to relax. Maybe, just maybe, he'd gained something when he switched sides, not just made a loss.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella grinned as her seventh years left the classroom; Draco walking along with Harry, Hermione and Ron as though they'd always been friends. The blonde was surprising in his moral fibre; she'd expected him to be a clone of Lucius, and hadn't yet decided whether it was a good thing or not that he wasn't. It made her life easier in one aspect, and difficult in another; she knew how to manipulate Lucius, but needed a better tactic for Draco. 

Her musings were interrupted when Severus walked in, and she quickly spelled the room to protect their conversation. "I assume my time is up, and you want your explanation?"

Severus sneered, and sat down in the chair opposite Isabella. "You will tell me everything, or I will tell both of them that you are working for the other side."

Isabella sighed, and buried her face in her hands. "You wouldn't believe what I found out, Sev."

"Of course I would. I told you, remember. I pointed you in the right direction to begin with!"

"No, you didn't. I needed to be sure who your loyalty lay with before I could let you in on the secret. I found things out, while I was hiding. The fact no-one remembered who the hell I was made it easy to get information."

Severus waited for Isabella to explain, but she seemed to have run out of steam, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Explain, Isabella, or I go to the highest bidder with the news of a spy in the camp."

Isabella smiled; Severus had always been a worthy adversary in mind games, but he couldn't beat her. Lowering her mental shields, she pulled Severus into her head, guiding him to the part of her mind that would alter should she lie. He looked and felt surprised by this act of faith, and she laughed softly. "I need you to believe me, and help me convince some others. Thus, you need to be sure I'm telling the truth."

"And you're sure, that we're on the same side?"

"You're fighting on the same side as me, Severus. Now shut up and listen."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Severus was convinced; now Isabella had to get one more person on side before she could set her plans into action. She waited in the clearing for her contact to Apparate in, and turned automatically when she heard the crack, holding her wand out handle first. "Isabella, such formalities are unnecessary."

"That they are, Lucius, but we follow them all the same. Tell me, will the Dark Lord consent to meet with me?"

Lucius read Isabella quickly. She had Severus on her side; he knew that from the irate fire-call he'd received from his long-time friend that evening. But he needed some assurance first. "The mutts?"

"Know nothing. Now, the Dark Lord?"

"He will consent to meet with you, and has agreed to your terms. You are to come with me, and I will take you to him."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Lucius smirked. "You don't."

Isabella matched his smirk, and stepped forward to take his offered arm. She felt the pull of Apparition, and was surprised that when they touched down in a small room Voldemort was the only person in there. Isabella quickly felt out the magic in the room and found that, while there were wards that would harm her if she attacked, there were no anti-apparition wards. Voldemort was watching her closely, and Isabella held her wand out handle first, before dropping it to the floor and hitting her knees. "My Lord."

The sensation of Legilimency ran through her, and Isabella waited it out, unmoving and silent. "It seems you've had quite the change of heart."

"My brother is dead in the name of a foolish Prophecy; I will never forgive he who caused the Prophecy."

"Then why come back, and ingratiate yourself into his life?"

Isabella smiled, a truly evil expression that shocked the two men in the room. "I want him to feel the pain of being betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. He's the reason my brother is dead, and he will pay. I will do anything you ask my Lord."

Voldemort smirked, and nodded gently. "You will continue to play for the Light, and when I ask you will deliver the boy and the old fool to me."

Isabella stood up at Voldemort's gesture and nodded her understanding. "It will be a pleasure, my Lord."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry shifted up as his bed dipped, and pulled himself to proper wakefulness. He felt strong arms wrap around his waist, and soft lips caressed the pressure-point beneath his ear. He snuggled into the touch and hummed happily as teeth and tongue were added into the mix, tipping his head to expose more of his neck to the delicate attentions. 

Draco smiled against Harry's skin as the raven-haired wizard moved into his touch, pleasure coursing through his body. Kissing Harry, lavishing attention on his body, was so much more enjoyable than Draco had ever imagined. The brunette was responsive, oh so sensitive, and very vocal. As it was, his humming moans were becoming more heart-felt, and Draco shifted up to kiss Harry properly, stifling his moan with his lips. 

They shifted against each other, and Harry hissed into the kiss when their erections brushed, unable to stop his hips undulating against Draco's. As they rolled around the bed Harry found himself on top of Draco, in between his spread legs, thrusting his hips rapidly. It felt so good, and Harry cried out into the kiss as he released in his pyjama bottoms. 

As he pulled back from the kiss and came down from his high, Harry's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he collapsed onto his back to the side of Draco, covering his face with his hands. "M'sorry."

Draco just grunted in response, and Harry turned to face the inevitable accusing stare, but found Draco biting his lip, his eyes closed and his head tipped back. Harry wondered what the hell was going on until he saw the sheets moving up and down frantically. "Draco!"

Draco moaned low in his throat, but kept fisting himself. He cracked one eye open and saw Harry watching the moving sheets; lust and embarrassment and desire shining in his eyes. Draco was so close to the edge, and he spoke through gritted teeth. "Touch me."

"What?"

"Your hand! Harry please touch my cock! Touch me goddamn it please touch me!"

Harry pushed the sheets down nervously, his mouth becoming strangely dry at the sight of Draco's erection, thick and red and glistening with pre-cum as his hand blurred up and down its length. Harry reached his hand out slowly, wrapping his tan fingers around the shaft as Draco pulled his hand away.

Draco came undone at the sight of Harry's tentative fingers closing around him, and he bit his lip to stifle his moan of pleasure. He opened his eyes when he felt Harry pull his hand away, and watched as the Gryffindor stared at his semen-spattered hand before raising it to his mouth, his delicate pink tongue darting out to lap up a spot of Draco's seed. "Oh fucking Merlin."

Harry blushed at Draco's exclamation, and turned to look at the blonde. "Sorry."

Draco growled, and yanked Harry's elbow hard, pulling the Gryffindor back onto the mattress next to him. "Harry, don't apologise. Why do you do that?"

"Sorry I…I didn't mean to…you know, for things…"

Draco rolled his eyes and turned his head to face his blushing boyfriend. "Things went a little further than you intended. I get it. But don't apologise. If I'd wanted you to stop I would have told you to."

"I'm not…don't think I'm…"

Draco sighed and wriggled his pyjamas back up to his waist from their hastily-shoved-down position on his thighs. He murmured a cleaning charm over them both and slid onto his side, resting an arm across Harry's stomach. "I don't think anything bad of you. For me, six weeks is the longest I've ever dated anyone. Period."

Harry blushed a little, and tipped his head to face Draco. "Really?"

"Really. I'm the king of the fuck-and-run brigade. Well, I was."

"But you're not now?"

Draco smiled, moving to rest the tip of his nose against Harry's. "Nope. You'll need a crowbar to get me out of this bed."

Harry smiled, shifting to spoon around Draco. "Why did you come in to begin with?"

"Can't remember. It can't have been that important. I think I just wanted an excuse to kiss you."

"You don't need an excuse. Now hush, I need to sleep."

"Lightweight."

"You'll just have to train me up."

Draco pressed a kiss to the inside of Harry's elbow and let his eyes drift close. Now _that_ statement was what sweet dreams were made of…

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage III – War; Chapter VII – Flight from Evil**_

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	7. Heritage III  War; Chapter VII  Flight From Evil

**Title** \- Heritage III – War; Chapter VII – Flight From Evil  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 7268  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

**Second Author's Note** \- This one has a lot of info in, *grin*

 

 

The first snow of the season fell as December was blooming, and Harry sat watching it wistfully out of the dorm room window. There were only two weeks of school left, and then he would be returning to Grimmauld Place. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. To begin with, he'd been excited at the thought of Christmas with a relative, one who loved him. But recently, Isabella had been distant with him. The only time they really connected was when he was practicing with raw magic, and then her proximity to him was frightening in its intensity. 

Draco had been watching Harry quietly and wondered what was causing the brunette to frown so. Clearing his throat he stepped into the room and smiled at Harry softly. He loved the blush that stole up Harry's cheeks whenever they were alone together, knowing exactly where the brunette's mind had taken him. They'd moved along over the past few weeks, and stroked and frotted to completion with each other on a regular basis. Draco was wondering whether two months was an acceptable time to wait before bringing up sex, but he was still undecided on that. "Hey you, I thought you had a lesson with Professor Potter?"

Harry smiled and stood up, stretching languidly before walking over to Draco and kissing him softly. "You can call her Isabella, with me at least. Why don't you?"

Draco knew that no amount of sugar would ever take the pain out of telling Harry that he didn't trust that woman as far as he could throw her (and Draco had always had a very weak throwing arm), so he just shrugged. "Manners, I suppose. Go on, you'll be late."

Harry nodded, stealing another quick kiss before exiting the dorm. Draco took Harry's vacated seat by the window and glanced around the grounds. He was about to have a shower when a slight movement caught his eye, and Draco summoned over a telescope, focusing it on the movement and watching carefully. He could make out two figures, having some kind of disagreement, and would have put it down to a lover's tiff if one of the figures hadn't thrown down their hood in a fit of rage, revealing themselves to him. The other figure stalked off into the depths of the forest, and Draco kept the telescope trained on Isabella as she stormed back to the castle.

 

 

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Isabella was so angry she could scream, and she forced herself to stop and calm down before she met up with Harry. Bloody Lucius, couldn't leave well alone. What the hell he was thinking, coming to Hogwarts and demanding to see her like that, was anyone's guess, but it panicked Isabella. She'd spent sixteen years planning this, and was not prepared to have it screwed up by anyone. 

Certain that she could deal with Harry; she headed to her office and found him waiting outside. "Don't slouch; you have a spine for a reason."

"Yes mum."

Isabella paused, and Harry looked shocked at what he'd said. She could have pushed the point, but instead just glossed over it. "You'll thank me when you don't get a hunched back. In with you, little one, you're cluttering up the hallways."

Harry entered her office and sat down on the comfy sofa, even more confused than he had been before. This Isabella, pouring him a drink and calling him 'little one', was the one that had been absent for a fortnight. He wondered over it, but then she was talking, and Harry forced himself to pay attention to her words instead of her actions. "Okay, tonight I thought we'd try improving your Occlumency and Legilimency skills, if you're up for that?"

Harry nodded, and settled in for a long night…

 

 

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Draco grumbled slightly as he was snatched from the doors of sleep by a Gryffindor climbing into his bed, but opened his eyes when he heard silencing and privacy charms being erected. Which began to erect something else. Draco cracked his eyes open and caught a glimpse of Harry before the Gryffindor was all over him, kissing and groping as he straddled Draco's waist. 

When Harry finally pulled away Draco could see the energy running through him, and smirked up at Harry, catching his wrists and massaging the pulse points gently. "You know, it's a little creepy that you come back from time with your Aunt – a blood relative – so turned on. Almost oedipal."

Harry growled and flicked his hands, twisting them out of Draco's grip and turning the tables on the blonde, pinning his arms to the pillow and leaning down so that he could feel Draco's laboured breathing on his lips as he spoke. "You have no idea. The sensations of raw magic running through you, it's beyond explanation. But tonight we practised Occlumency and Legilimency, and I succeeded."

Draco smiled; he knew that was a big deal for Harry. "Congratulations."

"Mmm. And now, I want to celebrate." Harry punctuated his request with a roll of his hips, making both of them moan. They fell into a kiss again, but it was laced with desperation now, and Draco bucked up against Harry hard before pulling away. "Are you…do you want…"

"Gods yes…"

They fell into another kiss, and Draco worked at Harry's top, scrabbling at the hem and pulling it up his back, having to break the kiss to yank it off the Gryffindor's head. The action skewed his glasses, and Draco reached up to pull them off, setting them carefully on his bedside table. "Still see me?"

Harry stopped perving over his boyfriend's bulging pyjamas, and nodded softly. "Oh hell yes, I see you. I'm okay when I'm really close up."

Draco smiled and pulled Harry back towards him, pausing with their lips almost touching and meeting burning green eyes. "I'll just have to keep you close then."

Harry nodded, and dropped a quick kiss on Draco's lips before moving to pull the blonde out of his pyjama top. As Draco shucked his bottoms, Harry tore off his jeans, boxers and socks, uncaring of where they landed. He turned back around and his jaw dropped as he looked at Draco, sprawled back against the pillows, one hand behind his head and the other idly stroking his erection. Under Harry's gaze his legs fell open, displaying himself to the Gryffindor, and Harry's whole body jerked towards Draco in a shock of unadulterated need. "Do you…ah…am I…uhm…"

Draco sniggered, and moved the hand behind his head to the dresser, idly summoning the lubricant and holding it out to Harry. "I don't top, Potter, so step up."

Harry took the lubricant and looked at it, trying to work out where to go next. Draco took pity on him, and spoke up. "You slick your fingers up, and then open me. Go slow, one finger until I'm ready for two. Then you stretch, maybe use three fingers if you want, and when I'm ready you lubricate your cock and enter me, okay?"

"How…uhm…how do I know if you're…you know…ready?"

Draco could see Harry's erection softening with nerves and he sat up quickly, sucking gently on Harry's neck for a moment before utilising his bedroom voice to its fullest potential, lips brushing Harry's ear as he felt shivers run up the brunette's spine. "You know that noise I make, when you're sucking just the head of my cock, swirling that pretty tongue over my slit and lapping up my pre-cum like it's the best damn thing in the world?"

Harry whimpered, sweat beading on his forehead as his cock throbbed hotly. "Y~yeah…"

Draco smirked and lay back against the pillows, spreading his legs even wider and bringing his knees up so his feet were flat on the bed. "When you hear that noise, I'm ready."

Harry swallowed thickly, trying to get his swimming vision back straight. He'd kind of thought about sex, and been a little grossed out by the logistics of it. He still was grossed out when he actually thought logically about what he was doing. But when he didn’t think, when he just looked and felt and _lived_ it was the most incredible feeling in the world, and Harry upended the lubricant over his hand before setting to follow Draco's instructions.

Draco was impressed; he'd expected Harry to be bad at this. The Gryffindor had a quick temper, short attention span, knack for clumsiness and an embarrassment complex to boot. But as his eyes stayed trained on the task in hand, and he flexed two fingers inside of Draco, the blonde assumed that Harry's knack for landing on his feet must over-ride all the others. Because he was _good_ at sex; nice and slow, methodical in a way that made Draco want to climb the hangings with pent-up need. As he felt a third finger sliding in Draco keened, and the fingers were removed gently. "Guess you're ready for more?"

Harry watched Draco nod his assent, and stroked his own cock a few times to spread the remaining lube around. He was so hard it hurt, and he could hear blood rushing in his ears along with Draco's laboured breathing and soft whimpers. Resting one hand on Draco's hip, he used the other to guide his cock and moved forward. He felt Draco's body resist him briefly before yielding, and Harry slid all the way into Draco surprisingly quickly, coming to rest hips to buttocks and screwing his eyes shut as he tried to breath.

It was like nothing on earth; hot and slick and tight…so fucking tight that Harry's vision began swimming again. He gritted his teeth, trying to even out his body and prevent the climax that was building from washing through him. Both of his hands were gripping Draco's hips, and he faintly felt the blonde's hands round his biceps. "Harry…move…thrust..."

He didn't need telling twice, and Harry dragged his hips back before pushing them forwards. He didn’t meet the resistance he'd expected, and on the next thrust he sped up. Draco was making his whimpering noises and moving into Harry's thrusts, so the Gryffindor kept thrusting, the sensations running through his body so incredible; like having raw magic pulsing through him but better, more intimate, hot and tight and wrapped around his cock, centred in his groin and…"Oh fuck! Oh fuck I'm…fuck Draco I'm…yes…YES!"

Harry's voice cracked as he rammed into Draco once more and spilled inside the blonde. Every cell was alive with sensation, and it took long minutes for him to register that Draco was fidgeting. He opened his eyes and looked down, seeing the blonde's erection still resting heavy on his stomach. That was when reality bashed through his haze of pleasure. He'd come, Draco hadn't. He'd been inside of the blonde for all of two minutes and come. "Oh gods Draco…"

Harry's hands came up to cover his face as he blushed with shame, and Draco growled. "Harry, it's okay, it's not unusual but Harry will you please help me out here?"

Harry blushed again, and slid out of Draco, scooting down the bed and swallowing the blonde down. He was slightly lifted by the fact it took only a few moments of sucking and lapping, coupled with strokes along the blonde's abdomen, to have Draco spilling down his mouth, but still felt horribly useless. "I…uh…sorry."

Biting back a snarky comment, Draco found his wand and cast a couple of cleaning charms over them before flopping onto his back, motioning for Harry to follow him. He could feel how tense his boyfriend was, and reached out to lace his fingers with Harry's. "Look, it's okay. It was your first time; it's not going to be perfect. No-one's first time is perfect, and if they claim it was they're lying to you. You did good, Harry."

"I came. Fast. Like some idiot teenager."

"You _are_ an idiot teenager!"

Harry turned his head to face Draco and found a soft smile gracing the blonde's features. He smiled back tentatively, and was rewarded with a kiss and a squeeze of his fingers. He saw Draco fight with saying something for a moment, but the blonde settled it quickly and spoke in an easy voice. "My first time, I cried it hurt so bad."

"Did the person not…you know…?"

"Prep me? No, he did. Just…it's uncomfortable, and I wasn't ready for it and it just hurt. So how about we get in a bit of practice, kind of a test run for our first time?"

Harry smiled, and nodded, returning to gazing at the canopy but keeping hold of Draco's hand. "It was still fucking awesome though."

Draco laughed, and tossed his wand onto the bedside table, pushing against Harry until he moved to his side and Draco could spoon around his back. "I'll second that. Now shut up and sleep, yeah? We've got a lot of practise to get done tomorrow."

 

 

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As Draco wandered through the halls he couldn't keep the dopey smile off his face. It was quite a turnabout, considering he'd started this term almost certain that just surviving to Christmas would be an achievement. He glanced at the mock-NEWT paper he'd completed and hoped Severus would be able to grade it for him before the Christmas break – Draco was going back to Grimmauld Place and he wasn't sure that Severus would show up much. 

He reached the Potions Master's office and was about to knock when he heard raised voices. Moving carefully, he pushed the door open and saw that the office was empty, but the door that led through to Severus' private quarters was open. Moving silently, Draco pressed himself against the door frame and had to bite his lip to keep from exclaiming at the head he saw in the fireplace, having a heated debate with Snape.

"Honestly, Severus! How can you be so adamant we can trust her?"

"Because, Lucius, she is on our side. The Dark Lord trusts her, who are you to question him?"

"That woman, that bloody Potter woman, was the champion of the Light last time around, and we're expected to believe that she is on our side?"

"Last time around Dumbledore's stupidity hadn't caused her brother's life to be lost!"

"And why will she betray her flesh and blood?"

"Because she hates Harry! Because she's working damn hard to prepare his mind, his body, to weaken him and make it easier for him to be killed. There are a thousand reasons; all she has divulged to me is that she blames Harry for James' death. We will continue this at the next meeting; it is not safe to block the old fool from the floo system for any longer."

Draco backed away silently, exiting the room and heading back up to Gryffindor Tower…

 

 

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Harry's vision was blurred with unshed tears, and he knew he should go to the Headmaster, but the bite of betrayal was too great, and he stormed down to Isabella's office, not bothering to knock, just slamming the door behind him, warding it with a thought. "Harry what the hell…"

"Shut up! Shut up you lying bitch! I trusted you!"

Isabella stood up warily, and held her hands up. "Harry, whatever you think I've done…"

Harry lunged at Isabella, pinning her to the wall and uncaring that his hands would probably bruise her wrists. "You're in league with Voldemort."

It was said so firmly, that for a moment Isabella wondered if it was true. Shaking her head, she held Harry's eyes and stood her ground. "No, I am not."

"Yes, you are. Draco heard Snape and Lucius talking about you working for Voldemort!"

Isabella really flinched then, and cursed under her breath. "Idiot men, they're going to blow the whole game." Seeing Harry's eyes flash Isabella back-pedalled, forcing herself to stay limp in his grip to avoid angering him further. "Harry…"

"I should have realised it. You walk in here, knowing all the answers, so fucking perfect, and I was stupid enough to believe you. I believed in you, you fucking stupid perfect bitch!"

That was a step across the line, and Isabella yanked her hand out of Harry's grasp and slapped him, hard enough to split his lip and send him reeling. "Who the fuck do you think you are to speak to me like that?"

Harry went to answer, but Isabella held her hand up, silencing him with a single glare. "If you think I am perfect you're even more stupid than I fear. I am not in league with Voldemort; I am playing a very dangerous game in the hopes of saving your worthless hide! Are you really so naïve that you believe everything that has happened up to now to be the truth of the matter?"

Harry stumbled over his words, and Isabella sighed softly, running a hand through her hair. "You need to hold it together until we're back at Grimmauld Place. I will explain everything to you then."

"No, I'm going to Dumbledore."

Harry got to the door before Isabella spoke softly. "You go to Dumbledore with this and he will have me killed."

Harry turned around and sneered at Isabella. "He wouldn't."

"Harry, please…"

"You have until tomorrow evening to explain it to me, or I tell Dumbledore, Sirius, the Order, everyone. I tell everyone that you are Voldemort's whore and screw the consequences."

Harry slammed out of Isabella's office and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower, shaking so badly he could hear his teeth chattering. He ignored the calls of his friends and headed up to the dorm room, throwing himself down on his bed and biting his tongue in an effort not to cry. He felt the bed dip, heard privacy spells muttered, and turned his head away as Draco lay down next to him. "What did she say?"

"Don't want to talk about it."

Draco sighed, but respected Harry's wishes for the moment. Carding his fingers through messy hair, he marshalled his thoughts and waited until the morning light would bring the opportunity to question Harry on Isabella's evident betrayal.

 

 

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Isabella had known, deep down, that if Harry found out before she told him, she wouldn't be able to fob him off with platitudes. But it was still startling when he slammed into her office at six in the morning, interrupting her conversation with Severus, and Draco following in his wake. "Harry!"

Harry ignored her attempt at chastising him, and flicked his eyes over the scene. Snape was dressed in his usual black, but Isabella was still in her pyjamas, and he sneered at them both. "Leaving before breakfast, Snape? How very chivalrous."

Snape opened his mouth to retort, but Isabella cut in. "I thought I had until this evening?"

"Changed my mind. I want answers, now."

Severus cut back in, "Needed your boyfriend to come and back you up?"

Harry just sneered at him, and Isabella sighed. Catching Severus' eye she opened her mind to him and spoke quietly. [I'll tell Dumbledore we're going to Diagon Alley for some potions ingredients, and taking these two with us.]

[Is it wise, to let both of them in on it?]

Isabella shrugged physically and mentally, and ran a hand through her hair absently. [Don't really have a choice. If you hadn't gossiped like a bloody woman with Lucius, they wouldn't know and I wouldn't be in this position.]

"This is not my fault."

"I didn't say it was. Just wait here."

Isabella waited until Severus nodded before turning to Harry and Draco. "You're sure, that Draco's the one you want in on all this?"

Harry nodded, and Isabella tipped her head to him slowly. "Okay. I'm going to tell Dumbledore that we're going to Diagon Alley – a bonding trip. Wait here, do not leave this room. When I come back I'll explain."

Isabella didn’t wait for Harry's reaction, just walked out of the room. He watched her go and turned round to face Snape. "You ever lay a hand on her and I'll kill you."

"I thought you wanted to sell her out to Dumbledore and get her killed?"

"The two desires are not mutually exclusive. I know all about your pitiful crush. Now, what do you know about this?"

Severus sneered, and sat back down in his chair, holding Harry's eyes all the while. "Oh, I know everything. Every little detail, and I have done for most of the term."

"Fucks sakes Severus, things are bad enough without you stirring. And you can wipe that smirk off your face, Sirius is highly likely to kill me when he finds out, and then there'll be no one to step between the two of you."

Severus raised an eyebrow, but tipped his head and stood up slowly. "You were quick."

"Dumbledore was heading to an early breakfast, I caught him there. He thinks it's fabulous that we're all going to bond."

Isabella scoffed, and headed into her bedroom, pulling a jumper on over her vest-top and yanking off her stripy pyjama bottoms, pulling on a pair of jeans and dropping onto the bed to pull on her boots. Running a hand through her hair she muttered a breath-freshening charm and re-entered the sitting room. "Come on then, in the floo and to Number twelve."

Harry raised an eyebrow and stood his ground. "You expect me to trust you?"

"Yep, that's about the gist of it. Either get in that damn floo and hear me out, or go and tell Dumbledore your suspicions."

Draco grabbed Harry's elbow and pushed him forwards softly. For some sick, twisted reason, he was feeling his trust in Isabella increase. When Harry shot him a glare, Draco shrugged and stepped into the floo…

 

 

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Isabella stepped out of the floo to what looked like all out war. Sirius and Severus were screaming at each other, Harry was yelling at the world in general, and Draco was watching the scene in mild confusion as Remus tried to calm things down. Amazingly, when she cleared her throat silence fell, and Isabella looked up at Sirius to see hurt and confusion in his eyes. "Izzy? Harry…he's…there's some kind of mistake, right?"

Isabella sighed, and leant against the mantle, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No, for all intents and purposes I'm a Death Eater. You should put the coffee on; we're going to be here for a while."

Settling in one of the armchairs, Isabella waited until Remus returned with coffee before addressing the people in the room. "For now, you are the only five people in the world that can know this. I trust four of you with my life, and I reckon I can trust the fifth. But know this Draco – you are here as a courtesy and an act of faith to Harry. You betray me, and I will kill you."

Harry went to snipe, but Draco rested a hand on his arm. "I can deal with those terms. So explain why you're in league with the Dark Lord and my father."

Isabella sighed, and set her mug down. "It's a long story, so just let me speak. When James and Lily had to go into hiding, I was the only one allowed to go and see them. That's what we all agreed on. And me and James, we both had a bad feeling about the war. The more we talked it through, the more things we found that just didn't fit. Voldemort knew too much. So we…we made some plans, in case what we feared was actually true.

Everything that I did; taking exams early, working on Masteries, was because Dumbledore told me to. That man always knew the Dryad prophecy was true, and he very subtly orchestrated things so that the prophecy would play out. In his desire to destroy Voldemort, he didn’t care whose life was lost in the process. Everything he did was done to ensure Harry would become the one to defeat Voldemort. It was Dumbledore that said we should use Peter as the Secret Keeper. He _knew_ that Peter wasn't strong enough. Me and James, we couldn't find exactly what it was that was making us nervous, but we decided to form a back-up plan. 

When Voldemort came to the house…when he killed them, me and Sirius got there just after, and we took Harry to Dumbledore. It was him – it was his idea for me to leave. I was distraught, and he talked me into it."

Isabella's voice trailed off, and she wiped furiously at her leaking eyes before continuing. "Maybe six months after I'd left, I was followed to the flat I’d been staying at. Some guy, I didn't know who, had been sent to kill me. He was a muggle. I stunned him and searched him for ID. I didn't find any, but I did find a note detailing my whereabouts. Written in Dumbledore's hand."

Sirius swore and jumped up from his seat, startling them all. "No, he can't…"

"Siri please. Sit down, shut up and listen to me. Over the past sixteen years I have searched and found out a hell of a lot. This is what I know for sure. Voldemort is evil, and must be stopped. Dumbledore, while allegedly fighting for the Light, is just as bad. He does not care who dies for the greater good, and he set Harry up to be the poor little hero. That stupid prophecy says the victor's path must be littered with fallen heroes, so James and Lily had to die."

"Hang on; you were supposed to be there. That night, you were supposed to be at James and Lily's, and I stopped you, wouldn't let you go because I was horny. We'd just finished when the wards went off, and when we got there…" Sirius trailed off, and looked at Isabella blankly. "You were going to be there."

"And who knew that I was going to be there?"

"Dumbledore."

Harry watched something pass, and swore loudly. "No! That doesn't prove anything, and you still haven't explained why you're sleeping around with Death Eaters!"

"WHAT?!"

Isabella shot Harry a death glare and turned back to Sirius. "Severus and I were talking when Harry barged in at six this morning. He's being childish. But that isn't important right now – what's important is that you hear me."

Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, but he bit it down and nodded tersely. Isabella shot him a small smile before continuing. "Severus and I got to talking when I came back, and he told me he's feared Dumbledore's motivations for a while now. Voldemort always seemed to know more about the Light than Severus told him in his position as a spy, but would only ever say that he worked it out. Severus suspected someone was feeding Voldemort information from our side, and the fact Dumbledore didn't deny that but didn't divulge who worried him. And here's the killer; the Death Eaters were tipped off about all of the meetings for new Divination Professors – Dumbledore wanted them to overhear any prophecy made. Dumbledore ensured that Voldemort would want Harry dead. He knew Voldemort's history, knew Voldemort would pick Harry as his target. Dumbledore orchestrated all of that. Because Dumbledore was the _only_ one who knew the details of each meeting.

When he had the prophecy, he suggested that Peter should be used as Secret Keeper, because he knew that Peter could be broken. Voldemort was going to come after me, and I'd have died before I told him, any of us would. But not Peter. So how the hell did Voldemort know to go after Peter and not either of us three? Because I certainly wasn't captured and tortured for information! He _knew_ that Peter would break, and I can't prove it but I think he tipped Voldemort off that Peter was the Secret Keeper.

He needed Harry's family dead so that Harry wouldn't be able to walk away from this fight. He planned it all, and he believes it's for the greater good but this is my family he has fucked with. I was distraught, and when I'd left I realised the error I'd made. I was about to contact him, to come back and sort out the mess, when that first Muggle was sent after me. That's when I knew that the spell he'd taught me, the spell he'd manipulated me into performing, he'd altered it. He hadn't forgotten me, that's why he could send someone after me. He intended for me to die, and he tried a few times over the years, but I always dodged it. 

I needed the time to work all of this out, and plan revenge. When I knew what to do I contacted him, and he had to let me back. That's why I've been lying – he needs to believe that I'm still oblivious to his manipulations. I think he thought I was catching on, and that's why he told Voldemort the night when the three of us would be at the house. Except, I'm better than him, I manipulated spells too, I've got him fooled, and I'm going to enjoy delivering him to Voldemort."

Silence fell, and Harry felt bile rising in his throat. He swallowed it down and met Isabella's eyes. He tried to scream at her, tried to tell her she was wrong, but he couldn't…couldn't find the anger he needed. It was Remus that spoke. "Isabella, can you prove this?"

"I oblivated Peter right before we made him Secret Keeper. I removed all knowledge of my Creature heritage. The only people that knew of it were James and Lily, you two, me and Dumbledore. I _know_ that neither James nor Lily sold me out. And I _know_ that I never dropped it into casual conversation. So unless one of you two sold me out, it had to have been Dumbledore that tipped Voldemort off."

Sirius shook his head, and Remus' knuckles were white on the arms of the couch. "I never breathed a word. Oh gods…are they working together?"

"No, they aren't. Dumbledore sent information to Voldemort through intermediaries. But he still did it. And he…god he planned all of it Remi." Isabella paused, taking a deep breath and trying to stem her tears for the moment. "I know for a damn fact that James' invisibility cloak was housed in Harry's nursery. If anyone had ever found out their whereabouts, the wards would have alerted them soon enough so that they could toss the cloak over Harry and hide him from prying eyes, claim he was out of the house."

"Dumbledore gave me that cloak for my first Christmas at Hogwarts."

Isabella met Harry's eyes, and saw understanding beginning to bloom. "Yes. He went to the house, and he took down the wards that would have alerted James and Lily to magic approaching. Everyone just assumed it was Voldemort that dismantled them. But it was Dumbledore. He…he was there the whole time Voldemort was killing James and Lily. When Voldemort died, Dumbledore snuck into the house and took the cloak. He knew Sirius and I would be there within minutes, and he needed to remove the traces of his magic from the house. Quickest way to do that? Reduce the house to rubble. Avada Kedavra doesn't total a house. And having the cloak to give to Harry years later? Builds a bond of trust, makes Harry easier to manipulate."

Harry stood up abruptly, and Draco moved with him, resting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back onto the sofa. Isabella gave them a moment before she continued. "I've come back and been the perfect poster girl for the Light. Dumbledore does not suspect me. When Severus came to me with his suspicions I verified them, and I was contacted by Narcissa Malfoy."

Draco's mouth dropped open, and Isabella nodded softly. "Narcissa believes that Voldemort is crazy. She asked me if I was willing to help her escape. I told her I was, and through her information I was able to contact Lucius Malfoy. I've used him to get close to Voldemort, and they believe I am working for the Dark. What you overheard, Draco, is what Voldemort believes – that I will deliver Harry and Dumbledore to him. I assume that once I do that he'll kill me, but that's by the by. The five of you are the only people in the world that know the whole truth. Narcissa knows parts of it, and she's on our side. She knows of certain others that are beginning to doubt Voldemort, and when we decide to move forward she'll get them onside."

"So whose side are you on?"

Isabella met Harry's gaze head on and let the question hang between them for a minute. "Yours. Voldemort will die, but so will Dumbledore."

"How?"

"By your hand. The prophecies, they are only true because someone made them true, yes? Well, Dumbledore made them true. He gave Voldemort access to Trelawney's prophecy and caused him to act on it, which in turn made the original prophecy about a Male Dryad's path being littered with fallen heroes true."

"It's just a prophecy…it's not binding…"

"Fucks sakes Harry! Look at your life and tell me that the prophecies aren't binding. Look at the tattoo on your hip and tell me why you don't just have one leaf, you have seven. Seven. The most magically powerful number, and the number of Horcruxes Voldemort made. Tell me that the people around you did not die heroes. Tell me how Voldemort found out about my Dryad nature if Peter didn't tell him. Tell me how a clean killing spell destroyed a house. Tell me, Harry, that this is not true, that the Prophecies aren't binding, and I will help you escape from all of this. Tell me."

Harry shook his head, standing up and crossing to the window. "Dumbledore…if this is true he has to…he has to pay."

"No, Harry."

Harry spun around, eyes flashing as he crossed to stand in front of Isabella, matching her height and invading her personal space. "What do you mean, no?"

"Just that. This carefully crafted plan will only work if both Dumbledore and Voldemort are oblivious to the last moment. This is why I hid the truth from you – because for this to work you have to remain Dumbledore's man through and through." 

Harry held Isabella's eyes for so long that he lost himself inside them, not really registering that he was using his new-found Legilimency skills against his Aunt. As he moved through her mind he felt so many emotions, but no deception aimed at him. Pulling out slowly, Harry blinked back tears and raised a hand to run through his hair. "You're telling the truth."

Isabella nodded, and reached out a hand, resting it lightly on Harry's arm and relieved when he didn’t throw it off. "Please, Harry, just hold it together today, while we sort things out. Please just hold it together, because I don't have a back-up plan anymore."

"But…but it doesn't make sense! There's so much that doesn’t make sense!"

"Like what?"

"Like…like…like why?! Why would he do this? And Sirius…if he knew Sirius wasn't the Secret Keeper, why did he let Sirius go to prison? Why did he lie and tell me that Sirius was a murderer?!"

Isabella flinched, turning to look at Sirius briefly before redirecting her attention to Harry. "He…asked us to oblivate him. So that, if he was taken, there would be no chance of him revealing who was the true Secret Keeper."

"So how did he know to tell Voldemort…?"

"It was Peter that oblivated him."

Harry went to question, but Remus had growled sharply, drawing attention to himself. "After all his talk, he'd do that? Isabella look me in the eye and tell me that I am not thinking this! We…we all trusted him and he was…he was using us? As his pawns?"

Isabella nodded, and Harry stared at Remus in confusion. He looked wildly at the three Marauders, watching as they swapped looks and still he didn't understand. He was surprised when it was Snape's silky drawl that elaborated. "I can confirm that when he came over to the Dark Lord's service, Peter was subjected to a full Legilimency probe. He showed signs of oblivation, and of the Imperious curse. They were well hidden, but just visible."

It clicked into place, and Harry dropped back down on the sofa. Blindly, he reached for Draco's hand and took it, holding on tight as he tried to anchor himself. "So Dumbledore just…he just let Sirius rot in prison?"

"Sirius was supposed to die in prison. Dumbledore knew Sirius was innocent, and when he escaped Dumbledore was trying to get him back to Azkaban before you could find out and act on it. Who do you think let the Dementors onto the school grounds during the Quidditch match? Dumbledore – he knew that Sirius was near the school and he needed him found and dead. Everything…Harry you were supposed to lose all of us, so that Dumbledore was your only mentor, your only guide."

"But…I'd have found out, in fourth year I'd have found out in the graveyard that it was Wormtail!"

"Yes! You’d have found out that your Godfather died in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit! And you'd have hated Voldemort just that little bit more! Harry, why are you fighting against the Dark? Ignore the need for revenge, and think about it. Why are you fighting in this war?"

Harry closed his eyes and tried to find an answer to the question. "So that no one else dies."

"Exactly. Harry, Dumbledore needed a hero, and that is what you are. And heroes, they can't have people looking out for their best interests. Dumbledore knew that none of us would have put strangers, put the greater good over you. So we had to be removed. Except, me and Sirius both fucked up his plans, and now he's had to adapt them. The first thing he did was tell Voldemort I was back in Britain, even before he told you lot. Voldemort has taken deep joy in telling me that Dumbledore sold us out for the Light." 

Sirius summoned in a bottle of firewhiskey and took a deep draught, passing it to his left and a surprised Severus. "So, does Voldemort know about Harry?"

Taking the bottles from Severus, Isabella took a swig and ran her finger around the damp rim slowly, the ringing sound echoing in the silence. "Yes. But that's on me. I had to give Dumbledore a reason to let me back into Britain alive, so I told him about the Gifting. It's my fault Voldemort knows. So I guess I'm just as bad as Dumbledore."

Remus sighed, taking the bottle from Isabella and drinking deeply before he added his own opinion. "No, you aren't. But Isabella, how have you managed to lie to Voldemort?"

"Simple, I haven't lied. Not outright, at least. I've always told the truth, just ambiguously. Remus, everything that I have said, everything that I have done, has been orchestrated. Go back over the past five and a bit months, since the first moment I stepped into the kitchen until when I stepped out of the floo this morning, and tell me one thing I have said that is definitive either way. Both of them, Voldemort and Dumbledore, heard what they wanted to hear. I'm not stupid enough to think Dumbledore hasn't been lacing my tea with Veritaserum when we spoke; he asked me if I was fighting for the Light against the Dark and I told him the truth. I just didn't mention that I include him in the Dark. Same with Voldemort; I never actually named the man I would betray, and he never thought to clarify that I meant Harry."

The silence resumed, and Isabella knew all the men were going over her behaviour, trying to find a definitive statement either way. The looks of resignation told her that she'd pulled it off, this far at least. She looked up as Sirius cleared his throat. "What did Sni~…what did _Severus_ tell you, to get you to trust him?"

"That someone has been telling Voldemort the best way to kill me, and undo my nature to gain the immortality that is stored there, even though I have no access to it. He suspected it was Dumbledore, but couldn't prove it. With what I knew, I could."

Sirius collected every last bit of maturity he had, and faced Isabella. "If you can't tell me, fine. But I need to know that you have a sound reason for trusting Snape. Dumbledore's manipulations aside, Snape was a Death Eater, and Snape told Voldemort about the Prophecy."

"She trusts me because I did not know. I made a foolish mistake, and I waited too long to try and rectify it. But even if I had left sooner, it would have been another Death Eater sent to overhear, and the outcome would have been the same.

For his part, Draco had listened and puzzled, and something didn't make sense. "Professor Potter? You said you'd manipulated spells too?"

Isabella nodded, returning to her seat and draining her coffee cup. "Yes. When I was gifting Dryad nature to Harry, I gave him part of my soul. It forges a bond between us that even Dumbledore can not manipulate."

Draco's temper rose, and he fixed Isabella in a firm gaze. "That's why Harry just accepted you back into his life with so little fuss, why he trusted you so easily. Because part of your soul rests in him, and even though he doesn't recognise it on a conscious level, his subconscious recognises you and reacts favourably to you."

"That's right."

"So that makes you just like Dumbledore and Voldemort. Manipulating Harry for your own ends!"

Isabella smiled wryly, and shook her head. "No. Like I said, I manipulated the spell. The Gifting is reversible. Had the first war ended favourably and mine and James' fears been unfounded, I would have undone the spell, and Harry would have been none the wiser. It's hard to explain what we felt back then, because with hindsight I know our unease was founded. But at the time we were just…worried. We didn't want to believe in the Prophecies, but we had to act in case they were true. I can't explain any better than this, can't excuse or defend what happened."

"If your only goal is to keep Harry safe, then let's leave. The five of us can hide away!"

"You'll walk out on your mother? My goal is to keep Harry safe. But Harry is needed to end the war. You don't understand - this whole plan will only work if everyone believes that Harry is being the good little Chosen One right up until the very end."

Harry shook his head, sounding tired and scared when he spoke. "This…I never once suspected any of this. Never once questioned these things. How can I be strong enough to play the part with Dumbledore and defeat Voldemort?"

Isabella smiled and leant forwards in her seat, resting her hand on Harry's knee and squeezing briefly. "Me. Developing the soul-bond I created will allow us to swap and share powers with each other and the raw magic around us. When you cast the final blow, it will be everything either of us can give, and you will not fail."

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage III – War; Chapter VIII – Keep On Pretending**_

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	8. Heritage III  War; Chapter VIII  Keep On Pretending

**Title** \- Heritage III – War; Chapter VIII – Keep On Pretending  
 **Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 5429  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

 

 

No matter how much she tried, Isabella couldn't find sleep. Sitting up slowly, she checked that Sirius was sleeping peacefully before snagging her robe and pulling it on as she got out of bed. Covering Sirius up reverently, she tied the robe and headed out of their bedroom and down the stairs. She was surprised to find Harry sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at a cup of tea. Reaching her fingers out she rested them against the mug, alerting Harry to her presence. "This is stone cold, you want another one?"

"Thanks."

Filling the kettle and setting it to boil, Isabella took the chance to study Harry. The final week of term was always hectic, so he hadn't really had to do anything other than not mouth off in public. The Christmas holidays had started officially on Saturday, and Harry had spent the weekend avoiding her. And now, as Monday took over from Sunday, he wouldn't even look up from the table. Sighing softly, Isabella made the tea and put the cup down in front of Harry. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Can I…do you mind if I stay?"

Harry stood up, and Isabella felt her chest constrict painfully, thinking he was going to leave. He picked up his tea and blew on it lightly. "More comfortable in the sitting room."

Isabella followed him through to the comfy little sitting room, sitting down on the chair as Harry flopped onto the sofa, his eyes lost in the dying embers of the fire. She didn't know what to say, so kept quiet, grateful that Harry could at least bear to be in the same room as her. She sipped her tea slowly, trying to let the hot, sweet liquid warm her, but it was failing. She looked up when Harry cleared his throat, and felt some of the warmth begin to return at the look in his eyes.

Harry knew he should apologise, and figured it was best to start with that before he launched into questions. "I'm…the way I behaved was…I should have given you a chance to explain. I'm sorry."

"Thank you. You were a little out of line. And for future reference, pin me against a wall again and you'll be getting very acquainted with my knee."

Harry sniggered and shot a small grin at Isabella, which was returned happily. Shifting into a more comfortable position on the sofa, he fixed her in a questioning gaze. "So, what's the plan?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well…hard as it is to swallow, I know you're not lying. So what's your great, sixteen-years-of-planning plan?"

Taking another draught of tea before setting it down on the small table, Isabella folded her legs up underneath her and thought about that for a while. "You stay Dumbledore's man through and through. I keep playing the double agent, as does Snape. Once all the Horcruxes are found and dealt with, we contact those on Voldemort's side who will join us, and stage an attack."

"And Dumbledore?"

"He will die, unfortunately, in battle."

Harry nodded, running a hand through his hair absently as he thought over what they still had to do. "There are still five Horcruxes out there."

"No, there are two."

"What?"

"Think it through Harry. The locket and the diary are gone, yes? Voldemort himself and Nagini must wait until last, and we will be able to find them with relative ease. Which only leaves Hufflepuff's cup, and the something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's."

"And the locket."

Isabella smiled, and shook her head. Standing up she held out her hand to Harry, curling her fingers around his when he took it and leading him up the stairs to the old drawing room. She headed to one of the dusty glass cabinets and opened a drawer, pulling out the heavy locket that Harry had tried and failed to open the first time he'd been in Grimmauld Place. Letting go of Harry's fingers she turned his hand up and dropped the locket into his open palm. Harry closed his fingers around it and looked up at Isabella. "No…"

"Yes."

Opening his fingers again Harry studied the locket more closely, seeing the serpent engraved on it. It clicked into place, and Harry dropped the locket as though it had burned him, making Isabella tut as she bent down to pick it up. "Harry! Show a little respect!"

"That's…part…"

"Of Voldemort's soul, yes."

"We have to…"

"We have to do no such thing. Listen to me very carefully. When you were telling me about your life, those first few weeks; what you said about cleaning out this room and then what you told me about the false Horcrux clicked into place. Regulus was not as stupid as Sirius makes him out to be."

"R.A.B. is…"

"Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius' brother. Ever wondered why Regulus survived only three days after defying Voldemort, but Karkaroff managed months?"

Harry shook his head, and Isabella snickered. "Guess it's a male Potter trait to miss the links. Look, this is a Horcrux. I _know_ it is."

"Then we have to destroy it!"

Isabella rolled her eyes and flicked Harry squarely on his scar, making him blink in confusion. "No, we don't. You are the only person who knows about this, beyond me. This locket is teeming with Dark magic, and that magic leeches out into the surrounding area, tainting it. But, because of the house we're in, everyone assumes the magic is just a part of the house. If we destroy the Horcrux there will be a sharp drop in the Dark magic present in this house, and that will be felt by people who we need to keep oblivious. This Horcrux needs to be the last thing we destroy before we go against Voldemort."

"But Dumbledore…"

"Can be kept oblivious until the last minute. Once we've got the other two found and destroyed them, when you are ready to start this we tell Dumbledore about this Horcrux and that we've destroyed it. In front of an audience he won't be able to argue against us going in on our terms, not his."

"But either way he gets what he wants!"

"Yes, but on our terms. Harry, if he dictates when we go into the Final Battle, do you believe that Voldemort will be surprised when we all show up?"

Harry paused with his mouth open and though that through. "You think he'd do that?"

"I think he has everything planned out down to the final breaths of the both of you."

"Except you."

"Except me. I am the proverbial wand in the works."

Harry smiled, and watched as Isabella rested the locket back in the drawer. "You should get to bed little one, we're decorating the tree tomorrow."

"That requires a good night's sleep?"

"Unless Sirius has matured since the last Christmas I spent with him, yeah it does."

Harry snickered, leaning forward and dropping a kiss on Isabella's cheek. "Can we talk more tomorrow?"

"Of course. Good night Harry."

"Night Aunt Izzy."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

"Harry, my boy, how are you enjoying your Christmas Vacation?"

Harry tensed. This was the first time he'd been alone with Dumbledore, had to interact with the man without Isabella's soothing presence, since he'd found out about the betrayal. Steeling himself, Harry smiled his crooked smile and began lying through his teeth. "So much, it's so brilliant to be spending time with Isabella."

"She is a remarkable woman. Now, I hope I have not crossed the line, but I obtained a contract for you, to register Isabella as your legal Aunt. I'm afraid the Ministry rather struck her from record when she went into hiding."

"Should Isabella sign it?"

"Oh no, there's no need for Isabella to sign it; it's purely your choice. Of course, you may want Isabella to look over the form."

Looking at the old man, seemingly so good and honest, seemingly on his side, Harry remembered everything that had been said and smiled sweetly. Stretching out his magic, he felt the glamour on the contract and memorised the number at the top of the form. "No, I'll sign them. It'll be a nice Christmas gift for her. I just need to run this coffee up to Draco, and I'll bring down a quill."

Leaving when Dumbledore nodded, Harry walked up the stairs praying Isabella and Draco were still in the upstairs lounge arguing over Pureblood Christmas traditions. He thanked Merlin they were, and pushed the coffee cup into Draco's hands. "Cold coffee. Thanks for that, Potter."

"Isabella, Dumbledore wants me to sign some forms. He says they're to register you as my Aunt, but there's a glamour on the forms and they're actually a P-6738 form. And Dumbledore's signature is on the bottom!"

Isabella swore under her breath. "That's an assets form. It states that if you die your property, money and possessions go to the second signatory."

"He wants my money?!"

"War is costly, Harry. Look, if you don't sign it he'll know something is up."

"And if I do sign it he'll get everything!"

"He won't live to get everything."

Harry looked like he was going to argue, and Draco cut smoothly across him, addressing Isabella directly. "If you put Harry under Imperious then the contract he signs is null and void."

"I can fight off Imperious."

"But you won't. Isabella will tell you to sign the form, you sign it, Dumbledore leaves, the form is void, disaster averted."

Biting back her own opinion, Isabella waited for Harry to nod softly before she spoke. "That's a good idea. As soon as Dumbledore is out of the house I'll end the spell, okay?"

Nodding, Harry readied himself for the spell. He felt the calmness wash over him, much stronger than the last time he had been under this spell. He suspected that he'd have a lot of trouble throwing this off. 

_'Go downstairs and do as Dumbledore asks'_

Watching Harry walk obediently off, Isabella prayed that her presence in the house would be enough to stop Dumbledore using magic to make sure Harry was of sound mind. Through Harry she could hear all that happened, and she breathed a sigh of relief when, after five minutes, Dumbledore bid his goodbyes and took the signed forms, none the wiser to their deception. Telling Harry to come back upstairs, she felt him fight briefly against her. 

_'Idiot boy! Come up here so I can take the spell off. I'm stronger than you; don't make me command you to kiss Ginny!'_

Smiling when Harry bounded into the room, Isabella ended the spell and stepped out of Harry's mind. He shot her a grin, and turned to Draco. "She wanted to make me kiss Ginny!"

"How positively vile!"

Laughing at the boys, Isabella ruffled Harry's hair as she passed him to the door. "Now don't be mean. We'll be decorating later, so don't run off."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry laughed as Isabella sent a mild stinging hex at Sirius, glowering at the older wizard as he tried to justify his actions. "Izzy, don't be such a bitch, it's Christmas!"

"Yes it is! Which means strands of popcorn and cranberries on the tree, not you cramming them down in between inhaling firewhiskey!"

"I'm not inhaling it! I'm drinking in a distinguished manner!"

That got a laugh from everyone in the room, and Sirius pouted, stopping only when Isabella leant over and dropped a gentle kiss on his lips. She dropped her voice to a low whisper, only wanting Sirius to hear her uncertainty. "Please Siri; I need things to be good this year."

Sirius nodded, catching Isabella's head and pulling her into a second kiss, whispering against her lips. "It will be good. Next year will be better though. Love you."

"You too."

They swapped a look, and Isabella straightened up with a smile on her face. "Okay, just the angel and then we're done."

Harry had been sat on the sofa with Draco, not really getting involved in the decorating. Isabella, Molly and Hermione had it under tight control, and the only male who had been stupid enough, or brave enough as Sirius would later claim, to try and help had paid dearly for it. Isabella had handed out small tasks, but Harry had mainly just sat and watched with Draco, both of them in awe of what a proper, family Christmas could be like. So it was with some surprise that Harry realised Isabella was holding the angel out and looking at him expectantly. "You want me to do it?"

She nodded, and Harry was about to argue when Draco nudged him, hard. Shooting a glare at the blonde he stood up and took the angel, stepping forwards and leaning up on his tip-toes, just able to stretch his arm high enough to get the angel on top of the massive tree. As soon as she was on the lights lit up, twinkling softly as the angel burst into song, her gentle voice crystal clear as she sung Christmas Carols. He took a step back to admire the angel, and turned to speak to Isabella. She was looking at the tree with such sadness that Harry felt his smile slide off his face. But, as he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, the look was gone and she was a flurry of activity again, directing the others in decorating the rest of the house.

Harry hung back as everyone else left the room to do their own thing, and when it was only he and Draco left he turned to the blonde and pouted. "Your elbow hurt."

"Sorry, but you looked like you were going to argue."

"What difference would it have made?"

Draco sighed, pulling Harry down onto the couch and arranging them so they could curl up and still see the tree. "Last night I overheard her and Remus talking about the last Christmas they were all together, when your parents were alive. You were only a baby, but your Dad held you up, guiding your hands so that you could put the angel on the tree. I think it just held meaning for her, even though it seems childish."

Harry pressed a kiss to the top of Draco's head and sighed softly. "It doesn't seem childish. This is why I need you around, you tell me how to make things okay. Did you see Isabella, when she was looking at the tree?"

"No, I was looking at the tree too. Why?"

"She just looked…defeated. So sad, Draco I can't even explain how sad she looked. Just for a few seconds, then she was smiling again."

Draco grappled with what he wanted to say for a minute, trying to find the words to express himself without upsetting Harry. "I think…I'm not saying you don't miss your parents, Harry. But for Isabella…for Sirius and Remus too, it's different. They remember what it was like to have your Mum and Dad around…it's difficult for them."

Harry nodded, staring at the twinkling lights on the tree. "I never really had them to miss, and my memories are gleaned from other people. Draco this…"

Harry trailed off, unsure of what to say, of how to vocalise what he felt. But Draco seemed to understand, and the blonde kissed him softly, bathed in the twinkling light of the tree. "Things will work out."

"You trust Isabella?"

"Yes. Strangely, as soon as she started talking about being in league with the Dark Lord I trusted her. But I'm not important. Do you trust her?"

"Yeah. But how much of that is because I'm walking around with a part of her soul embedded in me?"

"Honestly? Very little. I've been researching the spell she used; it would only dampen the extremes of reactions. And, the more time you spend with that person, the more able you are to filter out the effects. You've been around Isabella long enough for your body to recognise the part of her you carry, and discount its effects over your emotions. If you trust Isabella, Harry, it's because she's earned that from you."

Harry sighed, tightening his grip on Draco and letting his eyes slip closed for a moment. "Come on, it's Christmas, let's just celebrate. When do you want your present?"

"Can I have it now?"

"No, Draco, and don't pout."

"But I want…"

"Malfoy! Potter! Are you two expecting to be fed on Christmas Day?"

Harry and Draco had jumped up at the sound of Isabella's voice, and they turned to the doorway as she came in, her clicking heels announcing her before they could see her. "Well?"

"Uhm…yeah…?"

"Then get off your admittedly cute, but bloody lazy, arses and start decorating! There's a whole house to be done today. Harry, you and Draco have got the drawing room upstairs, okay?"

Draco watched as a look of understanding passed between Harry and Isabella, and wondered what the hell it meant. Harry's eyebrow rose in a question, and Isabella answered it with a nod. As she turned and left, Draco was about to question Harry when the Gryffindor whispered conspiratorially. "You have to promise not to say anything?"

"Okay."

"Come on, there's something to show you."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Draco stared at the locket in fearful awe, his fingers flexing near to it, wanting to touch but afraid to. "Can…can you feel the magic?"

"Yes. Only since I've been back, only since Isabella has shown me how to. But I can feel it. I can feel your magic too."

"Can you now?"

Harry nodded, setting the locket back into the drawer and closing it again before turning to face Draco, seeing a glint in the blonde's eyes that he knew was matched in his own. He stepped up close to Draco, sliding his arms around the blonde's waist and stopping so the tips of their noses brushed. "I can feel it swell when you cast a spell, feel it hum when you're happy and jolt when you're mad."

"What about now?"

Backing them slowly to the wall, Harry covered Draco's body with his own as he leant in to kiss the blonde's neck gently. "Now? Now it's crashing through your body, desperate for me to make it sing."

Giving up on composure, Draco thrust his hips against Harry's, hands scrabbling at the brunette to find purchase on bare skin. The decorating was long forgotten as Harry pulled Draco's t-shirt down and bit into the smooth, creamy flesh, marking Draco and feeling the sensations produce explicit reactions in his lover. Harry moved his hand from Draco's shoulder and down their bodies, cupping and squeezing the blonde as he gave in to teenage hormones.

"Which part of 'decorate' was misunderstood?"

Harry sprang away from Draco with a yell, whirling round to find Isabella stood in the doorway. "We…uh…I…uh…"

"Well, that cleared things up. Now, if you will _please_ finish the decorating, I have to go and blind myself."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

The Christmas holidays didn't mean Harry could stop his lessons, and he spent most of his evenings in the cellar with Isabella, practicing using his increased power and awareness of magic to better his casting. But tonight Isabella seemed wired, and he knew they'd be doing something new.

"Okay, let me demonstrate first, then I'll explain and you can have a go. Cast a hex at me."

Harry had already learnt not to question the more bizarre requests, so he picked up his wand and moved to stand on the other side of the room. He cast a tickling hex at Isabella, watching the pink light shoot out of his wand and flash across to Isabella. But instead of repelling the hex she simply raised her hand, and the light was absorbed into her skin. "What…how?"

Smiling, Isabella focused on the magic and repelled it, shooting it back out at Harry and letting him suffer for a few seconds before she lifted the hex. Harry wiped tears of mirth out of his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Okay; we've worked with taking magic out of the environment and using it, this is along the same principles. You know the old saying that the best way to defeat an enemy is to turn his strength against him?"

Harry nodded, and Isabella hopped up onto a crate, waiting while Harry sat down before continuing. "Well, this is the same principle. You don't deflect a curse or a hex; you absorb it and use the magical energy to fuel your own spells."

"Does that…would it work on…"

"No. The magic behind an Unforgivable is too corrosive to be absorbed into your body without causing damage. Ready to give it a go?"

"How?"

"Exactly the same as you'd absorb wild magic. Just feel for it and let it into your body. We'll start off with easy hexes, I don't want to damage you, and then we'll move up to harder ones."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Draco looked up from his book as Harry entered the room they were sharing and collapsed on his bed. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Besides an egotistical maniac, a hidden Heritage, a psychotic and manipulative Headmaster-cum-mentor and an Aunt who's evidence that my temper is a Potter family trait, and just as unhinged as her fiancé? Nothing much."

Draco snickered and closed his book, stretching as he stood up and crossing over to Harry's bed. He sat down next to the sprawled-out Gryffindor and stroked his cheek softly. "I can't believe she made you practice on Christmas Eve."

"Needs to be done I suppose."

"What were you learning?"

"You know how I can absorb magic from my surroundings? Well, Izzy has been showing me how to absorb it from spells and curses sent at me. But even with my reflexes it's so quick, and so hard to ready myself for the magic in time. Hence the being bumped and bruised."

Draco nodded and stood up, charming the door shut and peeling his clothes off. "Well, lucky I'm here to kiss it better."

Harry smirked and settled into a more comfortable position on the bed. Draco had just knelt over him when a knock rang out. "Harry, need five minutes, then you're all Draco's."

Cursing, Draco pulled his clothes back on as Harry straightened himself before opening the door. "Hey Aunt Izzy, we were just talking."

"Yeah? I'll be just talking with Sirius later."

Harry screwed his face up, and Isabella laughed. "I know, I know, too much information. I just want a quick word, and then I'll leave you in peace."

Draco stepped forward and smiled softly. "I need a drink anyway."

Isabella nodded her thanks and waited until Draco had closed the door behind him before she sat down on Harry's bed and waited for him to join her. Pulling a small box out of her pocket she handed it to Harry, giving him time to open it and study the engagement ring before she spoke. "Lily caught one of the teeth and asked me to take it to be mended. I was supposed to be taking it back to her that night. I only remembered I had it a few weeks ago, and thought it would make a nice Christmas gift for you."

Harry felt tears well up as he studied the beautiful ring, his voice wavering as he spoke. "What…how did Dad ask her?"

"You really want to know?"

Harry nodded, and Isabella smiled, getting comfortable on the bed and pulling Harry into her arms, tucking his head under her chin and stroking his hair softly as she brought her free hand up to hold his around the small box. "He planned it all out, and asked me to distract Lily for the day. He had Remus cooking a romantic meal, and Sirius was on look-out for when me and Lily returned. Me and Lily got back about six, and the idea was that I left her at the door so she could go in and James would be able to ask her in privacy. 

But, when we got back to their house, all the lights were off and I was worried, so I came in with her. There was a note on the table in Sirius' writing, saying that James had been injured and they were at St Mungos. Bear in mind Harry, we were in the middle of a war, so we were terrified. Anyway, we get to Mungos and find James. The idiot had walked into an open cupboard door and knocked himself out cold. Remus and Sirius had panicked because they're both useless in a crisis, and taken him to St Mungos.

So, we all sit around and wait for James to wake up. When he does, the first thing he says is _'Lily, will you marry me'_. Lily said yes, and then hit him."

"She hit him?"

"On the arm. He had caused us a lot of worry with his clumsiness. After that me, Sirius and Remus gave them some privacy, and when we went back in we got sucked into planning a wedding."

"That's not…"

"…Very romantic? I know. But in its own way, it was perfect. When he was released from Mungos and they went back home, he did the whole down-on-one-knee thing with the ring. But that was the proposal Lily said yes to."

Harry wiped his free hand over his eyes, reluctant to move from Isabella's warm embrace. "Why are you giving me this now?"

"Because it's Christmas."

"No, I mean; why tonight, why not tomorrow?"

Isabella shifted, moving Harry from her arms so she could meet his eyes. "Because we've found another Horcrux. It's me, Remus and Bill that are being sent to destroy it."

It was what was left unsaid that Harry heard, and he stood up abruptly. "You can't go. He'll have told Voldemort, you're in danger Isabella!"

"Harry, I have no choice. The Horcruxes must be destroyed to win this war."

Harry shook his head, standing up and pacing, trying not to hear Isabella's words. "Harry, I have to go and destroy this Horcrux…"

"I'll come with you…"

"…No you won't, you'll stay here. If something happens to me, you know that you have to keep up this charade until the Final Battle. This has to be done. I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye Harry."

Harry stayed silent, his back turned to Isabella, and she sighed softly as she stood up. "Harry, please don't make me walk out of here without having heard you say goodbye."

She got no response, and bit back on her pain as she moved to the door. As her hand closed around the handle, she heard Harry speak softly. "Goodbye."

Turning around, she opened her arms and sighed as Harry moved into them. "I'm coming back to you. But in case I can't…Harry this is only in case I can't."

Harry nodded, his voice muffled by Isabella's hair. "I love you."

Smiling, Isabella squeezed Harry tight before she backed away. "And I you. I'll see you tomorrow, maybe Boxing Day if those boys hold me up. Be good."

Harry nodded, collapsing back onto his bed when Isabella had gone. Draco returned minutes later, moving to spoon behind Harry and kissing the back of his neck. "Looks like sex is out of the window."

Harry let out a sob, and Draco cuddled him closer. "Shush, she'll be here when we wake up, just you watch."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Though Bill didn't know about the Horcruxes; he'd been told they were on a simple recon mission, he had proved to be useful. Isabella and Remus had gone in to destroy the Horcrux while he kept a look out. Isabella took great joy in snapping Rowena Ravenclaw's wand, especially after the hell she had endured to get past the protective charms on it, and on the old Riddle House. 

Slipping quietly out of the house, she squeezed Remus' hand as they made their way to Bill's hideout. Stepping through the bushes, Isabella stopped dead at the sight of Bill, spread out and mangled beyond belief. A twig cracked, and Isabella and Remus spun around.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry entered the gaudily decorated sitting room and smiled at Sirius half-heartedly. "Mind me sitting with you?"

Shaking his head, Sirius gestured to the sofa and waited while Harry sat down and got comfortable. They sat in silence, watching snow fall outside the window. Eventually, Sirius pulled himself together a little. "Did you have a nice Christmas?"

"It would have been better is Isabella had been here, but yeah, it was good."

Sirius smiled wryly, his eyes trained on the stars. Isabella was somewhere out there, and Sirius had never felt as useless as he felt now, sat in the warmth and safety while Isabella fought for all their lives. Trying to shake off the feeling of dread that had settled low in his stomach, Sirius turned to Harry and smiled brightly. "Izzy bought me a bottle of firewhiskey; fancy some?"

"Yeah, please."

"Okay. But don't tell her when she gets back; she made me promise to keep you sober."

"I'll keep my mouth shut. Wouldn't want her telling you off; it's Christmas after all."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry was almost asleep when he heard the commotion downstairs. There was shouting and screaming, most of it coming from Mrs Black, but he could hear crying too. Pulling on his dressing gown, he shook Draco awake hard and bolted down the stairs. Following the noise he ran into the kitchen and found Isabella with a sobbing Molly in her arms. "Izzy! You've been gone for five days what the…what's happened?"

He took in Isabella's beaten and bruised appearance, and the state of everyone else. Scanning the room, he looked for Remus and Bill but couldn't see them. "Where…where are the others?"

Allowing Arthur to take over holding Molly, Isabella swept the tears from her cheek, a fruitless endeavour as they were soon replaced with even more. "We went to see if we could glean any information from the old Riddle House. As we were leaving Death Eaters arrived, I don't know why they were there, He must have sent them. They…they killed Bill and…and Remus…they were taking me…I don't know where but I…I escaped…"

Isabella trailed off, collapsing against Sirius and burying her face in his shoulder. Harry felt Draco's hand slide into his, and he gripped it tightly. The only sounds were the sobs of grief, and Harry felt his own eyes hot and prickly with tears. This wasn't fair.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Walking down to the bottom of the garden, Harry found Isabella sat next to the pond, watching the Koi carp break the surface occasionally. He sat down by her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and resting his head against her. "I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as me."

"Isabella…"

"We didn't even tell him. Just said we were looking for information, and he should keep a look out. Getting to that damn Horcrux nearly killed both of us, but we destroyed it. Then we walked back out and Bill was…he was…and then they were everywhere."

"The Death Eaters?"

"No. Death Eaters wouldn't have done this, I bargained reprieve for me, Remus and Sirius out of Voldemort. He wouldn't go back on that until I'd helped him get you. These people wore the robes, but they were not Death Eaters. For one, Voldemort's told no-one but his inner circle of my Heritage, and these people were armed to the teeth to fight off a Dryad. They were mercenaries; hired to kill and under the Imperious to protect their Master. They killed Bill, and they killed Remus. And they were paid to deliver me to Voldemort, a show of trust from Dumbledore to Voldemort; deliver him my head and butter him up."

He was almost afraid of the answer, but he couldn't not ask. "How did you get away?"

Laughing mirthlessly, Isabella finally met Harry's eyes. "I killed them. Each and every one. I ask you to fight Voldemort and Dumbledore, but I'm just as bad as them. Isabella Potter, Auror extraordinaire, would not let the Death Eaters that murdered her best friend live. So, to maintain the charade, I killed innocent people in the name of the greater good. You be careful with those spells Harry, because come the Final Battle, you'll have three monsters to destroy."

Isabella's head dropped to her knees, and Harry tightened his grip as she shook with sobs, allowing his own tears to fall and be absorbed by the tattered, blood-stained jumper she wore. 

 

 

_Continued in **Heritage III – War; Chapter IX – Light vs. Dark**_

Information on Dryads - [here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


	9. Heritage III  War; Chapter IX  Light vs. Dark

**Title** \- Heritage III – War; Chapter IX – Light vs. Dark   
**Author** \- SoftlySweetly  
 **Beta** \- Tightened, cleaned up, and generally improved by the wonderful Genlisae and the stunning Potion_Lady - Thank you!  
 **Rating** \- NC17  
 **Word Count** \- 5647  
 **Summary** \- James' sister has bigger secrets than just her existence, and Harry's life will be altered irrevocably – along with everyone else's – when she walks back into the Wizarding World, a superficial image of perfection...  
 **Characters/Pairings** \- Harry/Draco, OFC, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, The Weasley Collective, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort, Peter, Lucius, Narcissa, Probably others, but they are the big ones.  
 **Warnings** \- Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Character Death, Implied Het, Violence. General Darkness  
 **Disclaimer** \- I own nothing but the plot lines and the OC. This takes on pretty much what happened in canon, except Sirius got out of the Ministry alive and the Order got there before Draco and/or Snape could kill Dumbledore. And Harry is in love with Draco. So yeah, not really canon after all.   
**Author's Notes** \- I've manipulated the legend of Dryads to suit my own ends. The other creatures mentioned come from Mythology, links at the end of the fic.

 

 

 

Harry moved slowly through the halls of Hogwarts, his mind lost in what had happened since Christmas. He wanted to run, to hide from the war raging around him, but he had no choice. Raising his hand, he knocked softly on the door to Isabella's office and stepped inside. She was sat at her desk, eyes wet and glazed over, and he wondered just what state she'd be in if they made it out of this war alive. "Isabella?"

Snapping her eyes back into focus, Isabella smiled softly. "Your lesson, of course."

"We don't have…"

"Harry, you need to be prepared."

The tone was final, and Harry nodded softly, following Isabella down to the room in the dungeon they'd been practicing in, determined to learn everything he could to help him defeat Voldemort.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Hermione smiled softly at Ron as she slipped out of the portrait hole. She needed to return her books to the library and then she could focus on Ron. He was putting on a brave face, stepping up to be an adult while his family tried to hold it together, but late at night he let the cracks show; letting himself fall apart in her arms. 

And then there was Harry. He was behaving strangely and there was something going on that he wasn't telling them. But whatever it was, both Isabella and Draco seemed to be in on it, and Hermione allowed some of her worry to ease; between those two, Harry would be alright. 

Turning the corner, Hermione almost ran into Dumbledore, and smiled softly at him. "Sorry, Headmaster."

"Quite alright, Miss Granger. Tell me, how are you coping?"

Bowing her head slightly, Hermione took a deep breath before she answered. "I'm doing fine, Headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled at her, the twinkle in his eyes dull, but still present. "I've received a request for Mr and Miss Weasley to return home for the weekend. Are they both in the Common Room?" 

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Then I shall let you get on your way."

Hermione nodded and continued on to the Library, grateful they had people like Dumbledore and Isabella on their side.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry murmured as soft kisses fell on his nape, waking him up pleasantly. It was nice, and he arched into the caress as steady hands ran up and down his chest. Turning over, Harry found Draco's lips with his own and kissed him deeply; enjoying the feel of soft, pliant lips yielding to him. They rolled into a more comfortable position; Harry nestled between Draco's spread legs as they rocked their hips slowly, building their arousals. Harry moved away from Draco's lips to his neck, nipping the soft skin there and relishing Draco's throaty moans. As he lifted his head up to suggest they take this further, Harry heard the dormitory door open, and Hermione sobbing.

Jumping out of the bed, Harry threw open the curtains and almost lost his balance as Hermione bolted into his arms. The other boys in the dorm looked as confused as he felt. "Hermione! What's happened?"

She stepped back, holding out the morning Prophet with a shaking hand. Draco watched as Harry read and Hermione stood trembling, and he moved without thinking; pulling the girl into his arms and letting her cry on his shoulder while he watched Harry's face crumple. "Harry?"

The brunette shook his head, eyes closed and fists clenched around the paper. Not giving up his grip on Hermione – he didn’t really believe she'd manage to hold herself upright if he did – he moved them closer to Harry and eased the paper out of Harry's hands, skimming the front page slowly. 

_**Heartache Hits Home for Grieving Weasleys.** _

_Yesterday, it was confirmed that the Weasley family has_  
lost yet more of its number. Heading home to be with their  
family in the wake of their older brother's death, Ronald  
Bilius Weasley (17) and Ginevra Molly Weasley (16) were  
attacked by Death Eaters and murdered. 

_This reporter wonders when Harry Potter will put an end to  
the deaths of his friends in…_

Draco let the paper drop to the floor and met Harry's eyes, scared by the hatred he saw there. But when the brunette spoke his voice was calm and level. "Hermione, we have to go and see Dumbledore. Come on."

He didn't wait for confirmation, just stormed out of the dorm; leaving Draco with no choice but to summon their wands and then follow him, Hermione still stuck to his side. It was only as they were walking along the fifth floor corridor that she seemed to regain herself a little. "This isn’t the way to Dumbledore's office."

"We're going to Isabella."

"But Harry, you said…"

"I know what I said! Just trust me and keep moving."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella snapped her head up, wand drawn as the door to her office slammed open. Seeing Harry, Draco and Hermione she relaxed; beckoning them in and closing the door, adding privacy charms for good measure. "You've heard?"

Harry nodded, and Isabella stepped to hold him tight, relieved when Draco took Hermione back into his arms. That was an anomaly to be fathomed out later, and she put it to the back of her mind as she felt Harry trembling against her. "Hush, little one. I'm so sorry."

Harry stepped back, looking up at Isabella and speaking softly. "Do you know what happened?" He tensed at the cautionary glance Isabella sent Hermione, and rested his hand on her arm. "Hermione's on our side, we have to tell her."

"Tell…tell me what?"

"Harry, I don't have time to go into it. If you can explain, explain. But if you can't, then you will fuck everything up."

"I can explain."

Isabella nodded, and sighed softly. "When did Ron leave?"

Harry shrugged, but Hermione filled in. "Last night, Dumbledore said that Mrs Weasley had asked for Ron and Ginny to spend the weekend at home. I was going to tell you today, Harry. What are you…"

Hermione was cut off by the strangled yell coming from Harry, and she jumped back as both Isabella and Draco moved to restrain Harry, keeping him away from the door as he yelled incoherently. She watched with fearful eyes as they finally calmed him down, and Isabella stepped back, leaving Harry in Draco's grip. "Goddamn it. Molly's been hinting she wanted the kids home; he used that."

"He set this up?"

Isabella nodded at Draco, closing her eyes and scrubbing her face with her hands, trying to work out what to do. "We can't afford to wait any longer. He's setting up deaths to destabilise you; we have to act."

"I can't, I…"

"Harry, you don't have a choice. Explain things to Hermione, and then the three of you go and tell Severus what's happened. He'll be able to help you practice, Harry."

"And you?"

"I'm going to see Narcissa, then I need to destroy the final Horcruxes. When I come back here Harry, that will be it. We will go to war. Are you ready for that?"

Harry let his eyes fall closed, squeezing Draco's hand and searching for the place inside where he could be free. Feeling the peace settle over him, Harry nodded softly. "I'm ready."

Stepping forward, Isabella pulled Harry to her and kissed him softly. "I love you. You can do this."

Dropping kisses on Draco and Hermione's cheeks as well, Isabella grabbed her wand and the map she'd drawn; the one that would lead her to Hufflepuff's cup, hidden away in the muggle orphanage that had been Voldemort's childhood home. Nodding softly, she left Harry to explain.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Hermione listened quietly as Harry and Draco explained what had been going on; what had happened in the past and why they had been lying for so long. They'd stopped talking a while ago, but she couldn't bring herself to speak just yet. She knew they were both waiting on her answer, but she didn't know what her answer was herself, so how could she give them it. Deciding to leave the big things, the massive betrayals and the far-reaching ripple effects aside, Hermione picked on the easiest thing to understand. "Isabella knows where the Horcruxes are?"

"Yes. The…when Remus and Bill were…over Christmas, she went to destroy Ravenclaw's wand. Added to the diary and the ring, that's three already destroyed. Then there's Voldemort himself and Nagini, who we can't kill until the Final Battle. And she must have worked out where Hufflepuff's cup is."

"That's only six."

Harry looked at Hermione in confusion until it clicked that he'd never told her and Ron about the locket. "Uhm…you remember when we had to clean out rooms in Grimmauld Place?"

"Yes?"

"Well, we found a locket that none of us could open…" Harry trailed off as Hermione let out a low moan, her head dropping to rest on her knees and her arms wrapping around her body; shielding herself from the world. Harry had to strain to hear her next words. "All that time?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Harry floundered for a minute, unable to find the words to explain why a piece of Voldemort's soul had been in the house used as a base for the resistance. Luckily, Draco stepped in, resting a hand on Hermione's forearm and holding her eyes as he explained. "The Horcrux emits a lot of residual Dark Magic. Because of the house, everyone who is able to feel residual magic simply put the Dark magic they felt down to the house, and centuries of Dark wizards. Destroying the locket would have removed all of that residual magic, and it would have been felt. Dumbledore would have realised we were playing him, and that couldn't happen. You understand?"

Hermione nodded, rubbing her eyes slowly; they itched from crying. Shaking her head, she stood up and gestured to the door. "We should go to Professor Snape."

"You believe us?"

"Yes. I…these inconsistencies, I never even saw them. But now you've told me, I can see them, and your explanation makes sense. Let's go."

"Hermione…"

"Harry, there is a war very close to exploding. I do not have time to fall apart, none of us do. Now come on." With a flick of her wrist, Hermione transfigured their pyjamas into jeans and shirts, smiling wanly at the look of surprise. "Well, I doubt Snape will appreciate you in your pyjamas. Let's go."

As they followed her out, Draco leaned in to whisper to Harry. "How the hell does she know I like silk boxers?"

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella smiled as Narcissa wrapped her in a hug. "I'm so sorry about Remus."

"Thank you."

"How are you?"

"Fine."

Narcissa tutted, and pushed a lock of hair behind Isabella's ear. "No you aren't. But I understand; now is not the time to fall apart. I take it the deaths of the youngest Weasley children were orchestrated?"

"Oh yes. Cissa…they were just kids."

"No one in this war is _just kids_ , Izzy. Harry was just a baby, and that didn't stop Dumbledore before, did it?"

"I suppose not. So, what do we do?"

"We move. I have all of the Horcruxes found, I just need to destroy the last two, and then there's only Voldemort and that snake to deal with."

Narcissa nodded and twisted her hands together. "I can take care of the snake."

"And I'll take care of Nagini." They both laughed mirthlessly, and Isabella let out a long, controlled breath. "This is it, Cissy."

"I believe it is. I'll spread the word. I guess the next time I see you…"

"We'll both be betraying our masters. Stay safe, Cissy. You have a son waiting for you."

Narcissa nodded, hugging Isabella again before they went their separate ways. She had a lot of people to see.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Albus smiled softly as the three teens turned the corner and left his sight. They must be heartbroken; the Granger girl should have realised that Isabella leaving Hogwarts' wards would cancel the privacy charms she'd erected. This wasn't exactly what he'd planned, but if Isabella was off destroying the final Horcruxes then it was time to act. A few words in the right ears, and it would get back to Voldemort that Hogwarts was preparing for a war. Innocent lives would be lost in the ensuing battle, but Albus had no doubt that it would be worth it to rid the world of Voldemort. 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

It was almost scary how easy it'd been to get to the cup, but Isabella reasoned that using any vast amounts of magic would have made the shoddy muggle orphanage stand out like a sore thumb to any passing wizard who was paying attention. Carefully removing the cup from its hiding place; under the floorboards in the room Voldemort had occupied, Isabella slipped another fifty into the support worker's hand and made a swift exit.

Sirius looked up from the fire when he heard the pop of apparition, but the look on Isabella's face told him things weren't good. She opened her mouth to speak, but then grabbed at her leg sharply. "Izzy?"

Ignoring him, Isabella pulled out the heated coin and looked at the edge. "Fuck. Voldemort has announced war on Hogwarts. I have to destroy the Horcruxes and get back there."

"How'd…"

"Nicked the coins idea off the D.A., been using them to communicate with Cissa. You pass the word along and go fight, I'll explain after the fact, okay?"

"You have it?"

Holding up the cup, Isabella smiled softly. "I have it. Now go!"

As Sirius bolted to spread the word, Isabella headed up the stairs to find the locket. They were so close she could almost feel victory.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

The alarm bells that went off were like nothing Harry had ever heard before, but from the look of fear in Snape's eyes they were not a good thing. "Snape?"

"The wards have been breached. Voldemort is here."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Trembling, Isabella focused her energy on the locket, pulling in everything she could from the atmosphere to destroy the blasted thing, chanting _Eradico Malum_ over and over. Finally, blessedly, the locket shattered; wisps of black smoke curling into the air and being submerged in golden particles as the natural magic destroyed the last remains of Voldemort's soul. The cup was already destroyed; it had caused a deep wound to her arm which couldn't be healed. So she stemmed the blood as best she could and put it aside to be worried about later. Right now, she was needed elsewhere.

Poking at the wards, Isabella Apparated to Hogwarts, landing directly in the Great Hall. The lower years were huddled together looking scared, and she shot them a quick smile before turning and bolting up to Dumbledore's office. She needed Gryffindor's sword; it'd serve the bastard right to be killed with his forefather's weapon.

The corridors were deserted, and Isabella could hear the screams and yells of the battle. She quickened her pace and saw the door to Dumbledore's office open. As she bolted in she realised too late that it was a trap, spinning around as the door slammed closed. "Expeliarmus!"

Disarmed, she tried to play the role, "Headmaster! Voldemort…"

"I know."

His tone told her everything, and Isabella let the mask slip, sneering at him. "Did you honestly believe we wouldn't work it out? YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM!"

Twirling his wand, Albus smiled softly, eyes twinkling. "In the name of the greater good. And you risked it all. I'm sorry Isabella."

"So help me Merlin, I will kill you with my bare hands! You hurt Harry! And my brother and…"

"Spion anam as anam!"

Isabella screamed as pain ripped through her, tearing at her insides with burning fierceness. Crumbling to the floor, Isabella looked up through tear-filled eyes at Dumbledore stood over her. He slid her wand into her hands _"Such a shame that you went mad and tried to kill me. And such a shame I had to be fatal in my self-defence."_ and held her eyes as the spell held strong. Tightening her fingers on the wand, Isabella tried to hold on just long enough to stop him getting to Harry…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Harry dodged a flying hex and scanned the battlefield yet again looking for Isabella. He still didn't see her, and he was beginning to tire. Shooting a disarming spell at a masked attacker, Harry jumped when a hand closed around his shoulder. "Sirius!"

"Harry, where's Iz?"

"She went to get you!"

Sirius shook his head, shooting a hex over Harry's shoulder and freeing Tonks to move on to the next combatant. "No, Harry, she left to destroy the Horcruxes and then she was coming back here."

"Did she tell you?"

"About Dumbledore setting up Ginny and Ron? Yeah, she told me. Harry, we're outnumbered. You have to end this!"

"I can't! Not on my own!"

Both men started as Draco bolted up to them, his face cut and bloody and his robes in tatters. "Where's Izzy?"

Harry shrugged, but a scream split up the conversation and drew them back to the battle. While Sirius ran over to where Arthur Weasley lay motionless on the ground, Harry and Draco kept fighting. They moved slowly around the grounds, edging closer to the Forbidden Forest and the clearing the Death Eaters seemed to be pouring out of. One masked figure was running towards them, and as Harry raised his wand to throw a hex, they tore their mask off and he found himself facing Percy Weasley. "You!"

The redhead stopped in front of them and doubled over, speaking in between great gasps of air. "No time…He knows…got Cissa…weeding out…end it…"

"He has my Mother?"

Percy looked up as though he'd just seen Draco, and his eyes rested on the blonde's hand wrapped tightly around Harry's arm. "Yes…he knew…she was playing…Isabella too. Have to end it!"

"I can't! I…I need Isabella here!"

Percy shook his head and gestured his arm wildly around the grounds. "No time! The Dark Marks…he's going to do something with them…explosion!"

Draco shook out of his reverie and pulled at Harry's arm. "You have to end this."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can! You aren't alone; you'll have me with you. Harry, we can't wait any longer."

He knew Draco was right. With one last, hopeful look around the battlefield, he resigned himself to Isabella having abandoned him and followed Percy back into the Forest…

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Isabella whimpered as she opened one eye, pain lancing through her body. She flinched at the fingers that trailed her cheek and looked up into inky black eyes. "Sev'rus?"

Murmuring healing charms, Severus tried to look reassuring as Isabella got her bearings. He studiously didn't look at Dumbledore's body, instead focusing his attention on Isabella's eyes until they had regained clarity. "What happened Sev?"

"He was killing you, and I stopped him."

"You saved me."

"It appears so. Can you get up?"

Isabella nodded, leaning on Severus for support as she stood up. She didn't have to ask; he immediately headed to the door, helping her get out of this office and to Harry before it was too late.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Entering the small clearing, Harry trembled as Voldemort's cold eyes rested on him. "Aaah, our hero arrives."

He felt Draco flinch, and flicked his eyes quickly from side to side. The battered body of Narcissa Malfoy lay crumpled to the left, and Harry prayed that she was just unconscious. Stepping forward, he spoke with more courage than he felt, "You need all these cronies around to take on a teenager?"

"Two teenagers, Harry, can you not count? And my loyal Death Eaters all asked to be with me tonight, to witness your demise."

Swallowing thickly, Harry raised his wand and tried not to let his hands shake. Everything that Isabella had taught him went out of his head and all he saw was Voldemort and the dozen or so black-clad figures that surrounded him, Draco and Percy. He'd led them into certain death, and he knew the cold laugh emanating from Voldemort was directed at his trembling hands. 

"You should be afraid boy. Your treacherous Aunt isn't here to save you now. I was most amused to hear from Dumbledore that the little bitch has been playing both sides against the middle. And to find out that one of my own was in on it too? Most amusing. To think that two silly little girls believed they could outwit me."

Harry flinched at the words and bit down on his tongue. He knew where this would go – Voldemort would insult him for a while, wax eloquent on how great he was and how worthy of death Harry was, and then kill him. And for all her promises, Isabella had left him. For all it was worth, Harry decided that he would not die on Voldemort's terms. They'd destroyed all the Horcruxes, and he had a slight chance of escaping unscathed. While Voldemort kept talking, kept ranting on, Harry zoned him out. Retreating inside himself he found his core and centred himself. Eyes still focused on Voldemort, Harry moved his awareness outwards, calling out to the magic around him and pulling it into himself. Voldemort couldn't have picked a worse place to get in; his nature attuned him naturally to trees and their base magic, and he was surrounded by thousands of trees. 

As he focused the magic into his wand and out, a commotion flicked in the corner of his eye and Harry heard Lucius Malfoy yell a warning to Voldemort. He pushed at his magic harder, but Voldemort was fast and met him halfway. Harry flashed back to the graveyard, and waited for the rush of spirits to come flying out of the golden ball of light that joined their wands. They never came, but as Harry began to panic he heard Isabella barking out orders.

"…fuck are you all waiting for? Get your damn wands pointed at Harry!"

He felt arms wrap around him and then Isabella's voice was sounding in his head. _"Dumbledore is dead and he's tipped them off about me. You're still in the clear, so just keep your mouth shut on everything. These people believe they're helping you cast a spell. You focus your magic on Voldemort while I divert their spells."_

He vaguely registered the spells chanted, the wands of Death Eaters pointed at him and the silver light flowing from them. He felt the heat of the magic as Isabella absorbed it and pushed it back out into the atmosphere, and when Harry looked up he could see fear in Voldemort's eyes. Draco had moved to the side, cradling his mother and watching them in awe. Strengthening his resolve, Harry pushed harder at the magic between them. It was easier this time; took less effort to push the ball of light towards Voldemort. Harry's body was in stasis, conducting the raw magic from the atmosphere into their joined wands. 

The golden light stopped when it hit Voldemort's wand, growing larger and larger, illuminating the clearing and forcing Harry to close his eyes to slits. But he could still see the light shimmering, forming a gilded cage around Voldemort, trapping the wizard and shrinking slowly in. As the bars of light touched his skin they melted straight through, the heat radiating off them enough to make Harry's eyebrows singe. He watched in horror as Voldemort was diced, his face twisted in a silent scream. When the bars had disappeared inside of Voldemort; lines of burnt wounds the only hint the magic had ever existed, there was stillness for a split second before an explosion of magic broke the connection, throwing Harry and the others backwards to the ground.

Immediately Harry struggled to sit up, tears of relief building in his eyes as he took in the small pile of smoking ash that was the remainder of Voldemort. He turned to face Isabella, but her face was grave. She pulled him into a fierce hug, her voice taut and tripping in his ear as she whispered furiously. "Dumbledore has sold me out, but you are safe. For the love of Merlin keep your mouth shut until you've spoken to Severus. He'll explain everything."

As he pulled back to question her, Aurors burst into the clearing. The lead one, a man he didn't recognise, stepped forward and bound Isabella tightly. "Isabella Potter, I am arresting you for crimes against the Ministry, Murder, Espionage, working with He Who Must Not Be Named, and suspicion of being an unregistered creature."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

The time immediately after Isabella had been Apparated away was a blur. Harry had stumbled to the side, reaching for Draco in shock as he tried to understand why they were taking her and what she had meant. He'd been taken to St. Mungo's and put into a room while countless Healers checked him over, and countless more Aurors tried to get him to talk. 

When they finally accepted that he wasn't going to talk they left, allowing Draco to come in and see him. The blonde stood holding the door open for a moment before he closed it behind him and erected privacy charms. "How's your Mother?"

"Shaken up, but she'll survive."

"Good. The others? No one would tell me anything."

Draco's response was cut off by Snape appearing from under what Harry could only assume was an invisibility cloak. "He'll tell you later. Right now I need to tell you the cover story."

"What? Where'd you get that cloak? Where's Izzy…"

"The cloak is from Isabella, now shut up and listen. Dumbledore sent word to the Ministry of Isabella's Dryad nature. When she confronted him at the school he performed a piece of very Dark magic; attempting to split the Dryad portion of her soul from her human part."

"But if he'd said…"

"The process would kill her. When a Dryad dies their soul is released to the trees, so no one would have questioned it. However, I got there before he could complete the spell and killed the insane old bastard."

"You…"

"Potter! Less interruptions! What Dumbledore didn't know was that Narcissa had convinced the Dark Lord to tip the Ministry off to Dumbledore's manipulations. They know that Dumbledore was working with the Dark Lord, and history will record him as being almost as bad as the Dark Lord himself. However, the Ministry also believes Isabella killed him. They're using anything and everything they can to ensure that she will be sentenced to death without trial."

"But you…"

"I know. But this is her plan, not mine. Harry, if the Ministry find out about you, they will kill you. This way keeps you safe."

"No! She can't…you…the Weasleys know!"

"No, they do not. When Black informed the Order of the battle he performed a complex spell and somehow managed to get it right. A selective Oblivation, refined by Isabella to remove all reference to your nature from their minds. The only people who know of it are us in this room, Isabella and Black."

"Where is Sirius?"

Severus smirked, "The mutt is safe in my house; no one will search for him there. The Death Eaters that were present in the Forest were all those that had turned away from Voldemort, led by Narcissa. They believe that they cast a magical transference spell, lending you their powers to help you defeat the Dark Lord. That is the official story Harry, and the one you must stick to at all costs."

As Snape had been speaking, Draco had moved over to the bed Harry was sat on, wrapping an arm round the brunette and feeling the shakes set in. As Snape looked at Harry expectantly, Draco heard the brunette's voice waver with tears. "So, after everything, she's going to be what? Murdered?"

"I would imagine she already has been."

Severus watched as Harry crumpled, and slipped the cloak back on. He still had his part to play with the Ministry, and Harry needed to grieve.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

The Daily Prophet that announced Isabella's death thudded to the floor at Harry's feet as he stood in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. He'd stuck to the story, told the lies he was expected to for reasons he didn't understand. He was hailed as the Saviour of the Wizarding World, Dumbledore's manipulations had been exposed, Sirius was in hiding at Grimmauld Place with him and Draco, and Snape and Narcissa were staying with them while things calmed down. 

And everything had been leading to this. The small bird that had managed, against all known laws of physics, to deliver the Daily Prophet, chirruped loudly and spread its wings. There, on the right side of its breast, was a single green feather on an otherwise white breast. "Isabella?"

The bird chirruped again, shooting up from the table in flight and morphing into a smiling woman. "Harry."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Draco shook his head; it ached from the information overload. Helpfully, Sirius passed him a glass of firewhiskey which he downed in one before turning to Isabella again. "So…you knew all along that Dumbledore would sell you out?"

"Well, I suspected. And my suspicions are normally true."

"And my Mother knew?"

Narcissa murmured her agreement, and Draco screwed his eyes closed. "But then how…"

Lacing her fingers with Sirius', Isabella smiled softly. "Same way Sirius did. Waited until they turned their backs and transfigured. It was a bloody long flight though, who the hell builds a prison in the middle of the North Sea?"

"Wizards?"

Isabella laughed and swatted Sirius around the head playfully. "Very funny!"

"So, how come the Ministry says your dead?"

Turning back to Harry, Isabella shrugged softly. "Pride. Losing both me and Sirius from the supposedly inescapable Azkaban? Not a good look for an already failing Ministry. They'll just sweep us under the carpet and pretend we never existed. And, with Voldemort dead and Dumbledore revealed for what he was, soon everyone will forget about us."

"I won't."

"I know you won't. But you have your own life to lead Harry. The world is yours."

"Are you leaving me again?"

Hearing the undertone of hurt, Isabella leant forwards. "Yes and no. Yes, we're leaving the country. The less people that know we're alive the better. Harry you have to maintain the lie that I am dead and Sirius has fled. But we're not abandoning you. There's a house, in the south of France, that my father left to me in his will. No one else knows it exists. We'll leave a key and you'll always be welcome."

"Where…"

"They key is…well, it will be when I've performed the spell…a never-ending port-key. It'll get you past the wards and into the entrance hall."

Harry looked up, meeting sapphire-blue eyes and holding them. "So this is it? You're leaving?"

"We'll always be there when you need us. I know this way isn't right, and it isn't fair. But it's for the best."

"The whole world thinks you both betrayed the Light."

"But you know we didn't. No one said we'd all get out of this unscathed Harry. This is the price we pay."

Harry nodded softly, staying seated as the adults left the room to begin making arrangements. Gripping Draco's hands softly, Harry looked at the mantle when he spoke. "And you? Now that the war is over, are you leaving me too?"

"If they stay, they will put you in danger. That's why Isabella has done all of this, Harry; whatever her means, the motive has always been getting you out alive."

"And now I'm back where I started – my family lost to the war."

"Not true. Just because Isabella and Sirius will be hiding doesn't mean they're lost to you. And you still have the Weasleys, and Hermione."

Harry turned to meet Draco's eyes, needing to see the truth of Draco's answer in them. "You haven't answered my question."

"I'm never leaving you."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

For saying the war had dragged out over decades, it was all tied up in less than six months. He'd seen the reaction of the Wizarding world to the news Isabella was part Creature, and he was glad he hadn't been subjected to that. Seven years down the line, Harry was at peace with what had happened, with the lies he had told about how the war ended. With age came maturity, and a whole box of letters from Isabella. It had taken almost a month straight to read them all, but it had answered every question he'd ever had. While on the run, Isabella had written to him weekly, a stream of consciousness about her suspicions and discoveries, and she'd kept them all to give him after the fact. 

To read about it in real time, to see the discoveries about Dumbledore's manipulations as they were made, had made everything much easier to understand. Between him, Draco and Hermione they finally understood, and accepted, what had been done. The fact it could have been done better, could have been done differently, was irrelevant. Harry accepted that Isabella had done what she did with only the best intentions at heart, and while he didn't like the negative effects of those actions, he knew that any other way would have had its own negative outcomes. And besides, this way he at least got some contact with his Aunt and Godfather, even if it was only one week a year in the south of France. It was a family, however dysfunctional, and Harry was happy.

Stood on the Altar in the glorious sunshine, Harry turned his head off to the side, seeing the shaggy black dog lay in the shade at the edge of the gardens of Malfoy Manor, a small hummingbird rested neatly on its head. Turning back to face the Ministry officiator and Draco, Harry smiled softly. 

"I, Harry James Potter…"

 

_**Finish** _

**Author's Final Note** \- A massive thank you to everyone that read and commented on this story. It was greatly appreciated, and I'm glad that this story could provoke the reactions that it did in you; the War  & Peace comments were the highlight of my week!

*Softly*Sweetly* xXx

 

_Eradico_ \- Destroy _Malum_ \- Evil [found here](http://www.freedict.com/onldict/lat.html)

_Spion_ \- Tear _Anam_ \- Soul _As_ \- From [found here Information on Dryads - ](http://www.alistair.com/gaelic/)[here](http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=DRYADS)


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